Risky Business: A Primer On Canada's Foreign Anti-Corruption Enforcement Regime

Written by Wendy Berman and Jonathan Wansbrough, authors of the Canada chapter of the International Investigations Review 2014, this primer provides a comprehensive overview of Canada's foreign corrupt practices regime including recent developments, cases of note and risk mitigation strategies for transactions and the engagement of third party agents.

The release of this primer coincides with a number of high profile prosecutions and increased government and prosecutorial attention on violations of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) - the principal Canadian statute designed to combat corruption and bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions. This increased attention follows amendments in 2013, which significantly increased the scope of Canada's jurisdiction to prosecute violations of the CFPOA, increased the maximum length of imprisonment to 14 years and created a new books and records offence.