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ARTICLE · 09 JUNE 2014

Criminal Liability For Corrupting Foreign Officials: No Requirement To Actually Pay Bribes

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Canadian white collar criminals doing business abroad beware: offering bribes around the globe does not protect you from prosecution here in Canada.

CanadaCriminal Law
Glen Jennings
Glen Jennings
Heather Cohen
Heather Cohen
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Canadian white collar criminals doing business abroad beware: offering bribes around the globe does not protect you from prosecution here in Canada. Nazir Karigar, the first individual to be convicted at trial under Canada's Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), was recently sentenced to three years in jail for a bribe that was never actually paid.

The CFPOA came into force in 1999 as Canada's means of ratifying the OECD's Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Soon after the Act was enacted, the Canadian government was criticized by both the OECD and Transparency International for its failure to take action against Canadians alleged to have bribed officials abroad.

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