U.S. senators seek clarity on foreign bribery law

WASHINGTON Feb 16 (Reuters) - Two Democratic senators urged the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday to explain what it considers a bribe of a foreign official, saying the lack of clarity has led companies to devote disproportionate resources to complying with the law.

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota asked Attorney General Eric Holder to clarify how the Justice Department interprets the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which bars bribes to foreign officials, and under what circumstances it would pursue a bribery case.

The U.S. government has stepped up enforcement of the FCPA, extracting $1.8 billion in sanctions from 23 companies in 2010, according to an industry blog called the FCPA Blog.

The letter comes as law enforcement officials are pursuing several high-profile investigations, including one into whether Avon Products used bribes to win the first-ever license given by China to a Western company to sell products door-to-door.

The SEC is also looking into Wynn Resorts' $135 million donation to the University of Macau and its gaming licenses in the Chinese gambling hub.

In a letter to Holder, the senators asked the government to outline the benefits granted to companies that self-report a violation and cooperate with an investigation and to explain what it considered an adequate compliance program.

"It has become apparent that too many companies are devoting a disproportionate amount of resources to FCPA compliance and internal investigations," the senators said in the letter.

In the past year business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have campaigned to amend the 1970s-era law. Coons and Klobuchar have previously expressed support for legislative changes.

In recent months courts have also pushed back on the government's prosecutions under the law, dismissing one case in Texas before it went to a jury, and throwing out another conviction in California.

The Justice Department has said it would not support any legislation to change the law, but Lanny Breuer, who heads the department's criminal division, promised in a November speech the agency would soon offer "detailed new guidance" on the criminal and civil enforcement provisions of the law.

That guidance is expected to come in the form of updates to a document called the "Lay-Person's Guide to the FCPA."