[shkkmo]

The US was the first country to make this illegal in 1977, eventually other countries did as well and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention was eventually established.

The original 1977 law arose in response to investigations in the wake of the Watergate scandal and public outcry over corruption.

Beyond the public perceptions of corruption, there were significant foreign policy impacts. The US gov was actively working against communists in many countries, but those communists were sometimes being funded by bribes from US companies.

When the law was passed, the goal was to push other countries into implementing and enforcing similar laws to reduce any negative impact on US companies.