OTTAWA (December 9, 2012)
On October 31, 2003, the United Nations General Assembly designated December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day. This day serves to raise people’s awareness on the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
Corruption is a global problem, and while it is illegal under Canadian law for a Canadian company to bribe a foreign public official, in many countries where Canadian businesses operate, bribery is accepted as a standard practice. In many parts of the world, corruption contributes to instability and pushes fragile countries toward state failure. Unchecked, corruption leaves little room for democracy to flourish, freedom to expand or justice to prevail.
To combat international corruption, in 2007, the Government of Canada funded the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to establish two investigative teams, one in Calgary and one in Ottawa to investigate complaints under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA).
Since the introduction of the Act, the RCMP successfully investigated Hydro Kleen in 2005 which resulted in a $25,000.00 fine as well the 2011 Niko case that resulted in a $9.5 million dollar fine. More recently, the work of the RCMP contributed to bringing Nazir Karigar to court to face charges of corruption under section 3(1)(b) of the CFPOA.
“International Anti-Corruption Day and is an excellent opportunity for us to re-iterate our commitment to continue investigating bribery of foreign public officials abroad” said Assistant Commissioner of Federal and International Operations, Todd Shean. “The RCMP will continue to investigate cases, gather evidence and bring criminals to justice.”
Corruption erodes our society and hinders economic growth and good governance. Transparency International is a non-governmental organization that publishes a yearly index that measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 176 countries. The recent 2012 index report ranks Canada among the top nine countries for our international efforts to combat corruption.
“Canada has steadily maintained its ranking, however, our long term goals is to ensure that Canada’s rank reaches the top tier of countries most dedicated to fighting corruption,” added Shean.
Prompted by the RCMP’s intensified enforcement efforts, Canadian companies are now pro-actively disclosing information about potential corruption violations and are establishing robust due-diligence regimes to ensure they are not in contravention of the CFPOA.
If you have any information regarding Corruption of Foreign Public Officials, call the RCMP in Calgary at 403 699-2550 or in Ottawa 613 993-6884.
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