Private bribery is combated more effectively
Bribery of private individuals will in future be prosecuted ex officio and punished even if it does not lead to distortions of competition in the economy. On Wednesday, the Federal Council put the revision of the criminal law on corruption into force on July 1, 2016.
Under current law, private bribery can only be prosecuted if a person involved files a criminal complaint. This requirement has proven to be too high a hurdle for consistent prosecution, as there has not been a single conviction since the introduction of the criminal provision in 2006. Private bribery will therefore now be prosecuted ex officio, except in minor cases.
Moreover, bribery of private individuals is currently only punishable if it leads to distortions of competition within the meaning of the Unfair Competition Act (UCA). The revision therefore moves the relevant criminal provisions from the UCA to the Criminal Code. This means that in the future, bribes paid outside of classic competitive situations, e.g. in the awarding of sporting events, will also be punishable.
In addition to these two main points, the revision extends the scope of the criminal provisions on the granting and acceptance of advantages by public officials. In the future, this so-called feeding or soaping will also be punishable if the advantages do not go to the public official himself, but - with his knowledge - to a third party.
Source: Federal Office of Justice
