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Anti-Corruption Portal
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Chile amends its anti-corruption legislation

Chile adopted Law No. 21.121, amending the Criminal Code and other regulations for the prevention, detection and investigation of corruption(Ley No. 21.121 Modifica el Código Penal y Otras Normas Legales para la Prevención, Detección y Persecución de la Corrupción).

The law primarily introduces a number of new corruption offenses that are criminalized:

  • Article 240 of the updated Penal Code criminalizes cases of unfair management or disposal of another person's property;
  • Article 248 of the Criminal Code expands the concept of bribery to include the provision of valuables to an official not only for personal gain, but also for the benefit of a third party; moreover, the valuables that may be considered as bribes now include not only material valuables, but also valuables of any other nature;
  • Article 250bis of the Criminal Code criminalizes the bribery of foreign officials; this provision may be applied to residents of the country, even if the misconduct was committed outside Chile;
  • Articles 287bis and 287ter CC criminalize bribery in the private sector.

The Act also expands the subject matter of article 240 of the Criminal Code by providing that a director or officer of a corporation who has a direct or indirect personal interest in the conclusion of any contract, transaction or other action by that corporation that violates the rules of the law shall be deemed guilty of an offence. Similarly, sanctions for such acts shall apply if the act or omission was for the benefit of the spouses, civil partners, relatives of the persons concerned up to the third degree p

At the same time, article 251sexies of the Criminal Code provides that the giving of gifts in the framework of official and protocol events, as well as gifts of small value, which are considered to be a courtesy or a tribute to tradition, does not constitute a crime (these provisions do not apply to gifts to foreign officials).

According to the Law, the statute of limitations for a number of corruption offenses will now start to run from the moment an official is dismissed from his or her position.

In addition, the new Law toughens sanctions for certain offenses (e.g., embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds) and introduces a new form of sanction for individuals for corruption offenses (Article 39 quáter): an absolute indefinite or temporary ban on holding positions in companies that are contracted by public authorities or state-owned companies, with companies or associations in which the state has a majority participation, or in companies that participate in concessions or concessionsgranted by the state.

For legal persons, a new form of sanction is also envisaged(amended by the Law on Liability of Legal Persons - Ley No. 20.393 Establece la Responsabilidad Penal de las Personas Jurídicas en los Delitos aue Indica) - the prohibition to enter into any contracts with public bodies, public companies, organizations in which the State has a majority share, as well as the prohibition to participate in the awarding of any concessions granted by the State. At the same time, the Law introduces the possibility of using such a sanction as the termination of the activity of the organization.

Tags
Foreign bribery
Sanctions
Criminal prosecution
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