No Bribe, No Bribee, No Essential Offence Elements In Canada… But Conspiracy Conviction Under CFPOA Affirmed

On July 6, the Ontario Court of Appeal released the first Canadian appellate decision to address the scope of Canada's Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (the "CFPOA"), upholding the conviction of Nazir Karigar for agreeing to offer bribes to Indian officials in relation to a bid for a security contract. The decision confirms that the foreign corruption offence casts a wide net, prohibiting not only giving or offering of bribes to foreign public officials, but also "agreeing" to give or offer bribes, regardless of whether the targeted official partakes in an agreement and regardless of whether a bribe was actually paid. The decision also rejected an attempt to narrow the 'real and substantial' connections necessary to establish Canada's jurisdiction over foreign corruption.