Corruption and Bribery Offences in Peru - Lexology

Sandra Orihuela contributes to the Anti-corruption and Bribery in Peru chapter of the Lexology Navigator, a comparative global Q&A guide. This is the section related to Offences. Specific offences and restrictions Offences What are the key corruption and bribery offences in your jurisdiction? Corruption and bribery offences are regulated in Title XVIII – Crimes against the Public Administration of the Criminal Code, which contains both passive and active bribery offences (where the offender is a public official or a civilian, respectively). Passive bribery offences include:

• acceptance of a bribe by a public official to take or omit to take an action that may or may not infringe on the duties of his or her office (this also applies to foreign public officials);
• acceptance of a bribe by a judge, arbitrator, prosecutor, expert witness or member of an administrative court (higher penalty);
• request of a bribe by a public official;
• the illegal increase of the assets of a public official resulting from the abuse of his or her position; and
• an unlawful interest in contracts or transactions in which the public official takes part as a result of his or her position.

Active bribery offences include:

• the offer, delivery or promise of a bribe to a public official for him or her to take or omit to take an action that may or may not violate the duties of his or her office (this is also applicable to bribes made to foreign public officials, in which case the offender can also be an entity);
• the offer, delivery or promise of a bribe to a judge, arbitrator, prosecutor, expert witness or a member of an administrative court (higher penalty); and
• influence peddling involving a judicial or administrative case.

Hospitality restrictions Are specific restrictions in place regarding the provision of hospitality (eg, gifts, travel expenses, meals and entertainment)? If so, what are the details? Articles 397, 397-A and 398 of the Criminal Code prohibit the offering, giving or promising of a gift, donation or wrongful benefit in general to a domestic or foreign public official in exchange for the performance or omission of an act by the public official. There are no specific guidelines in addition to these general prohibitions. Similarly, Law 28024 (July 12 2003), which regulates domestic and foreign lobbyists, companies and individuals, prohibits the direct or indirect receipt of a “generosity” by a public official from a lobbyist or his or her representative. The prohibition applies to gifts, donations, free services, employment and hiring offers, and also applies to the public official’s spouse and relatives. Finally, Article 8 of the Law of Ethics in Civil Service (Law 27815, August 13 2002) regulates ethical prohibitions in the civil service by providing that a public official is prohibited from obtaining or seeking benefits or undue advantage for him or herself or others, resulting from his or her use of authority, position or influence. Facilitation payments What are the rules relating to facilitation payments? The Criminal Code does not specifically address facilitating payments. However, the code prohibits the offering, giving or promising of a donation, promise, advantage or benefit to a public official; thus, no exception applies to facilitating payments. Click here to read the full article.