International Observers Dept: With little fanfare, the RCMP revealed this week that it had charged Nazir Karigar, a Canadian citizen and a former Cryptometrics official who worked for the company in India, under the seldom-enforced Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. It is only the second time the criminal charge has been laid since the act was brought into force more than a decade ago – a batting average that has earned Canada much criticism from international observers. In 1997, the federal government signed onto the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s anti-bribery convention, which obliged the country to outlaw such illicit payments. But the OECD has repeatedly complained that precious little has been done since, according to Globe And Mail. “We’ve got the OECD every few years asking us: How many prosecutions have you had? What are your police officers doing? We’ve signed onto the OECD bribery convention. We’ve passed the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. And they’re saying, ‘Okay. What have you done lately?’ The firm, which has gone as far afield as New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates to sell its security gadgets, came face-to-face with one of the Mounties’ latest, but least publicized, priorities – cracking down on Canadians who try to win contracts by bribing foreign leaders. This week’s charges are a direct result of the OECD “holding our feet to the fire,” said Cyndee Todgham Cherniak, an international business lawyer with Lang Michener LLP. As
reported in the news.
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3.7.10
