Nazir Karigar was found guilty in August 2013 of agreeing to offer a bribe to an Air India and another Indian government official, contrary to Canada's Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA). Karigar has not yet been sentenced, but he faces up to five years imprisonment.
Three companies have previously pleaded guilty under the CFPOA, but this is the first case to go to trial and the first conviction of an individual under the CFPOA.
The Court found that the action required to prove the "agrees" element of a bribery offence is a conspiracy to pay a bribe and a belief that a bribe was paid to a foreign public official. Any agreement between two people to make or offer a bribe is sufficient.
The Crown is therefore not required to prove that a bribe was actually paid to a foreign public official who had the ability to offer a business advantage, making it easier to prove a bribery offence because it may be difficult to prove a foreign official agreed to receive a bribe, that the official actually received the payment, or the identity of the recipient.
The Court also took a broad interpretation of the "real and substantial link" test to take jurisdiction over the case, citing Karigar's residency in Canada, the Canadian business connection, and the fact that many documents and emails were seized in Canada.
This case was important for the Crown to see how the judiciary would interpret the CFPOA. Given the broad interpretation of the elements of the offence of bribery, and the recent amendments to the CFPOA, we expect that the Crown will increase prosecutions of both individuals and corporations for bribery and the new books and records offence under the amended CFPOA.
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