Companies can spend millions investigating whether theirexecutives have bribed overseas officials in violation of theForeign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and most of that money goesto law firms and others hired to conduct the investigations. Anarticle in the Wall Street Journal estimates that FCPAinvestigations at just three companies—Avon Products, WeatherfordInternational and Wal-Mart Stores—cost a total of $456 million.

The Journal says that more than 100 companies arecurrently under investigation for FCPA violations.

Siemens, which settled FCPA allegations for $800 million,employed more than 300 lawyers, accountants and support staff fromthe law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton and the accounting firmDeloitte during its two-year internal probe, racking up a total of1.5 million billable hours.

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