OTTAWA: Canada will no longer tolerate its companies’ bribing foreign officials in order to speed up or facilitate routine transactions such as permits, the government said Monday.
Ottawa closed a loophole in a 1998 law that banned bribes but allowed so-called facilitation payments, also known as “grease payments,” it said in a statement.
Effective from October 31, such payments will be illegal. The penalty for bribery is up to 14 years in prison.
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“The government of Canada expects Canadian organizations operating overseas to act in accordance with Canadian laws and the laws of the countries in which they do business,” said a statement.
The legislation was strengthened in 2013, giving Canadian authorities the reach to prosecute Canadian nationals guilty of corruption abroad.
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