The Karrigar Sentence and the future of Anti-Corruption sentencing under the CFPOA

By David Debenham (McMillan LLP)

Casting the First Stone: The Karigar case was the first real test of Canada’s anti-corruption legislation. Nazir Karigar (“K”) was convicted under a single count of offering a foreign bribe to a foreign official, contrary to s.3(1)(b) of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. “It is important to note that the charge was “offering” because the entire scheme was an abject failure, and there was never any agreement to accept a bribe. K and his foreign superiors were singularly unsuccessful in bribing anyone, leaving K to suffer the consequences while his superiors avoided prosecution by fleeing to America.

The Karrigar Sentence and the future of Anti-Corruption sentencing under the CFPOA