Foreign corrupt practices legislation

Foreign bribery scandals force change upon corporate Canada

Topics: 
Foreign corrupt practices legislation, Corporate ethics
Rating: 
3

Douglas Quan – April 12, 2013

For years, it wasn’t uncommon for Canada’s corporate bosses to turn a blind eye when it came to dishing out lavish gifts to foreign officials — a Land Rover, money to cover children’s tuition, access to booze and women. They chalked it up to the cost of doing business overseas.

But those attitudes are changing, experts say, in the wake of reputation-scarring foreign bribery scandals involving Canadian companies.

Canada to crack down on foreign corruption, bribery

Topics: 
Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
3

Susana Mas – February 5, 2013

The federal government is redoubling its efforts to combat corruption and bribery by tabling amendments to the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Tuesday.

In its pursuit of "an aggressive, pro-trade agenda," the federal government wants to make clear that Canadian businesses are expected to "play by the rules."

How Canada is gaining a reputation as a place for bribers to do business

Topics: 
White-collar crime, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
0

Sophie Cousineau – February 12, 2013

Martin Dumont, the disgraced star witness of the Charbonneau inquiry, sparked Gérald Tremblay’s resignation when he asserted with composure that the Montreal mayor had turned a blind eye to the illegal cash donations that were bursting out of the party’s safe. By a sad twist of irony, it was a lie – or an assertion so contorted by contradiction it is now shrouded in doubt.

“I don’t need to know this,” is what Mayor Tremblay said, according to Mr. Dumont. That was the breaking point for Montrealers, who felt that Mr. Tremblay’s resignation was overdue after a series of scandals had stained his administration beyond what any heavy-duty detergent could ever clean.

Canadian energy company to pay millions in African bribery case

Topics: 
Oil & gas industry, Corruption, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
4

Carrie Tait – January 22, 2013

The energy company founded by the late Bay Street financier Brad Griffiths pleaded guilty to bribery charges Tuesday and agreed to pay a $10.35-million penalty – the largest fine the RCMP has garnered since establishing specialized teams to investigate foreign corruption.

The plea by Griffiths Energy International Inc., a small privately held oil and gas company based in Calgary, stands to settle charges it faces under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act after a company investigation unearthed payments made in an attempt to secure lucrative energy properties in Africa.

Canadian oil and gas company charged under foreign corruption act

Topics: 
Alberta, Oil & gas industry, Corruption, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
0

Dan Healing – January 16, 2013

A Calgary-based private oil and gas company with exploration rights in Africa has been charged under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, it revealed Wednesday.

In a news release, Griffiths Energy International Inc. said the charge follows an internal investigation it launched after a new management team was hired in July 2011 and discovered consulting contracts entered into by prior management.

SNC-Lavalin’s problems just beginning

Topics: 
Corruption, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
4

Behind closed doors, fraud and corruption have long been tolerated in Canada, especially when it takes place overseas

Duncan Hood – December 13, 2012

Recently I turned on the nightly news and let out a silent cheer. There was Pierre Duhaime, former CEO of global engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, caught in that most embarrassing of situations, the perp walk.

Half a dozen cameras clustered on the sidewalk outside the Montreal police headquarters to capture a fallen titan gamely striding to his car, his black nylon jacket zipped all the way up to the bottom of his nose.

Canada and the international anti-corruption landscape

Topics: 
Foreign corrupt practices legislation, Anti-corruption efforts
Rating: 
0

Anthony J. Cole & Christine E. Silverberg – November 26, 2012

There is no shortage of voices telling corporations in Canada that a new dawn of anti-bribery enforcement has arrived. In support of this claim, many cite a fairly recent flurry of activity from the two RCMP international anti-corruption teams set up in 2008 to lead Canada’s international anti- bribery efforts (one in Calgary, the other in Ottawa).

But are Canadian businesses really facing a brave new world of anti-bribery enforcement, or is there nothing of substance covering an embarrassing reality for Canada’s law-enforcers?

2 former SNC-Lavalin employees charged with corruption

Topics: 
Corruption, Construction industry, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
0

The Canadian Press – June 22, 2012

Two former SNC-Lavalin employees are scheduled to appear in a Toronto court Monday to face charges under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act in relation to a bridge project in Bangladesh.

Ramesh Shah, 61, of Oakville and Mohammad Ismail, 48, of Mississauga were arrested Feb. 20 and formally charged in April, RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Lucy Shorey confirmed Friday.

Canadian energy firm stays mum on bribery allegations

Topics: 
Corruption, Oil & gas industry, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
3

Carrie Tait – May 15, 2012

Griffiths Energy International Inc., a company aspiring to go public but marred by an internal corruption investigation, has wrapped up its soul-searching mission.

But potential investors -- as well as existing private ones -- will find little comfort in a statement the company released Tuesday. Only three paragraphs of the 2,188-word (less boilerplate) press release are devoted to its bribery investigation.

Is Wal-Mart Too Big, Powerful, Influential to Obey the Law?

Topics: 
USA, Corruption, Corporate ethics, Mexico, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
2

Richard Trumka – April 26, 2012

This week's reports from the New York Times about Wal-Mart's practices in Mexico are breathtaking. The Times found "credible evidence that bribery played a persistent and significant role in Wal-Mart's rapid growth in Mexico."

The Times interviewed an executive of Wal-Mart's Mexican subsidiary who "bought zoning approvals and reductions in environmental impact fees." According to the New York Times, when lawyers for Wal-Mart discovered this activity and informed senior management, then Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott ordered Wal-Mart's internal investigative protocols revised to give the targets of internal investigations more control over those same investigations.

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