The Canadian government appears to have jointed the World Cup of overseas antibribery enforcement. In May, authorities arrested a Canadian citizen in Ottawa under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.
Nazir Karigar, 63, was charged with one count of corruption. His company, a Canadian firm, allegedly bribed an Indian government official to win a multi-million dollar contract for the supply of a security system.
The Canadian government said its investigation of Karigar began in June 2007 when it was tipped about the alleged graft.
Canada ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2007. In April 2008, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Crime Branch set up teams to investigate international corruption cases. The Ottawa-based team focuses on “allegations of international corruption in accordance with the Criminal Code and the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA),” according to its press materials.
The RCMP said it would provide no further information about the case against Nazir Karigar. He was arraigned this week in Ottawa and will appear in court again on July 28.
This is apparently only the second Canadian prosecution of overseas bribery and the first against an individual. In 2005, Hydro Kleen pleaded guilty to bribing U.S. immigration officials and paid a $25,000 fine.
The Canadian government said it won’t release the name of the Indian government official allegedly involved in the Karigar case or how much money was supposedly paid in bribes.
Download a copy of the RCMP release about Nazir Karigar here.
1 Comment
It seems perfectly clear that the Canadian CFPOA is not having the same scope nor scale of impact that the USA FCPA did, even in the early years.
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