"Regular Kick Back"

"Keep This Business Confidential"

"Insiders Only"

E-mail containing phrases such as these is among the evidence that federal prosecutors say is likely to lead to criminal charges against former employees of Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., now that charges against the company have been settled.

The Portland-based company pleaded guilty Monday to a subsidiary's violations of federal foreign anti-bribery laws and agreed to pay $15.2 million in penalties to federal regulators.

William Steinman, a partner with the Powell Goldstein law firm in Washington, D.C., said the government's increased enforcement of foreign anti-bribery laws has made it harder for U.S. firms to compete against companies from countries that don't aggressively enforce anti-bribery laws.

"The (U.S. law) by and large does not make accommodations to the fact that there are markets where corrupt behavior is pervasive," Steinman said. He also called the size of the fine troubling.

"I can only think of what it would've been if they hadn't cooperated," he said.

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