James Murdoch 'could face prosecution' under corruption law in America over newspaper payments to police officers



James Murdoch could face criminal charges in America over News of the World payments to police officers, it was claimed today.

The deputy chief operating officer of News Corp could be prosecuted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).



It has emerged that U.S. prosecutors could seek to bring criminal charges, fines and possibly seize assets from the American-registered News Corp.



Under fire: James Murdoch could face prosecution in the U.S. it emerged last night

Any payments to UK police could trigger a justice department inquiry under American laws because News International is a British subsidiary of the U.S. company.

News of the World journalists are said to have paid police informants as much as £100,000 for their services.

The FCPA act outlaws American companies from bribing foreign officials to gain business.

Mr Murdoch has admitted he inadvertently misled parliament over the phone hacking scandal because he did not have the full facts at the time.

Axe: The announcement that the News of the World will close after this weekend was greeted with shock and amazement by journalists

Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Butler University lawyer and FCPA expert Mike Koehler said: 'I would be very surprised if the U.S. authorities don't become involved in this [NI] conduct.'

He added: 'Perhaps more importantly, the act requires that payments to government officials need to be in the furtherance of 'obtaining or retaining' business.

Attack: Rupert Murdoch's empire faces a damaging police probe in the UK that could see charges brought in the U.S.

'If money is being paid to officials, in this case the police, in order to get information to write sensational stories to sell newspapers, that would qualify.'

Mr Koehler added the justice department was keen to bring cases against both individuals and companies as prosecutions brought 'maximum deterrence'.



The decision to close the News of the World in an attempt to save Rupert Murdoch's bid to seize full control of BSkyB appears to have done little to stem the slide in the share price.

The broadcaster was hit by the release of a letter from Ofcom signalling that it was continuing to watch News Corporation and BSkyB very closely.



Shares in BSkyB fell sharply, knocking £1billion off its value as the media regulator said it wants to be sure that directors and controlling shareholders are 'fit and proper' people to hold a broadcasting licence.



David Cameron earlier informed James Murdoch there were a lot of questions still to be answered and warned there would be delays to proposals for a takeover bid of BSkyB by the corporation.



Ofcom told John Whittingdale, chairman of the parliamentary media committee, that it would wait for results of the ongoing investigation before making a judgment.

