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
- Eliminating the exemption for facilitation payments (payments made to foreign public officials to expedite or secure the performance of a routine act, such as the issuance of a permit). This particular amendment will come into force on a later date to allow companies the opportunity to adjust internal controls and practices.
Canadian companies whose anti-bribery policies currently permit facilitation payments should consider and implement the necessary steps to adapt their practices and policies to comply with these new provisions.
For more detail on the amendments, please see our previous e-lert, Proposed Amendments to the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act Will Have a Significant Impact on Canadian Companies Doing Business Abroad.
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