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ARTICLE · 21 JUNE 2013

Amendments To Canada’s Foreign Corruption Laws Have Arrived

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On June 19, 2013, significant amendments to the "Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act" came into force.

CanadaCorporate/Commercial Law
Wendy Berman
Wendy Berman
Jonathan Wansbrough
Jonathan Wansbrough
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On June 19, 2013, significant amendments to the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act ("CFPOA") came into force.

The most notable amendments include:

  • Establishing nationality based jurisdiction for all corruption offences to cover the activities of Canadian companies, citizens and permanent residents regardless of where the alleged bribery has taken place.
  • Creating a new offence for books and records kept which conceal or falsely record matters related to the bribe.
  • Increasing the maximum length of imprisonment for individuals convicted under the CFPOA, including both bribery and the books and records offences, to 14 years from the current five year maximum.
  • Granting exclusive authority to the RCMP to lay charges under the CFPOA, which will eliminate the potential for any jurisdictional conflicts between federal and provincial law enforcement agencies

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