Chinese anti-bribery efforts previously focused primarily on the bribe-taker. This is changing, as the focus is more on bribe-givers based on interpretations of China's anti-bribery law, as recently issued by the China Supreme Court. This development could affect foreign companies dealing with Chinese government officials.
The new interpretations deal with the punishment of bribe-givers. They also provide precise financial thresholds to guide local courts in determining the severity of a bribery offence. The key elements are the following:
- Any person who bribes government officials for RMB 10,000 or more will be investigated for criminal liabilities.
- A "serious" offender could be sentenced to 5-10 years. Circumstances that will be considered "serious" include giving a bribe ranging from RMB 200,000 to RMB 1,000,000, or giving a bribe ranging from RMB 100,000 to RMB 200,000 and coupled with certain specific circumstances which are described below.
- A "very serious" offender could be sentenced from 10 years to life imprisonment. Circumstances that will be considered "very serious" include giving a bribe exceeding RMB 1,000,000, or giving a bribe ranging from RMB 500,000 to RMB 1,000,000 and coupled with certain specific circumstances which are also described below.
- Specific circumstances include (a) bribing government officials in charge of administration of foods, drugs, product safety, and environmental protection, which seriously harms the public interest and jeopardises people's lives and properties, and (b) bribing government officials in administrative enforcement and judicial bodies which impairs the justice of administrative enforcement and judicial activities.
- The term "government officials" may include employees of state-owned enterprises and joint ventures in which state-owned enterprises participate.
- If an individual or company that commits bribery but voluntarily reports this bribery before being prosecuted, the punishment for the crime may be reduced.
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