DOJ FCPA Opinion Procedure Release 12-01

In Fall 2012 the US DOJ issued FCPA Opinion Release 12-01, regarding whether a member of a royal family qualifies as a "foreign official" under the FCPA.  A US lobbying firm hoped to engage a consulting company to help it obtain and conduct a lobbying representation of certain foreign governmental entities.  One of the partners of the consulting company was a member of the royal family of the same foreign country.  The DOJ opined that under the circumstances, a royal family member who has no position in the foreign government is not a foreign official under the FCPA, as long as he is not representing that he is acting on behalf of the royal family or as a member of the royal family.