By H. Henry Chang
Primary foreign anti-bribery legislation and enforcement agencies
Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例) / Criminal Code (刑法)
Investigating/prosecuting agencies:
Ministry of Justice (法務部), which has established the following:
- Agency against Corruption (廉政署)
- Investigation Bureau (調查局)
- Prosecutors Office (各級法院檢察署)
- Special Investigation Division of the Supreme Court Prosecutors Office (最高法院檢察署特別偵查組)
Offenses
Anti-Corruption Act
Bribing Public Officials:
- A person who offers, promises or gives a bribe or other unjust benefit to a public official to procure a breach of his official duties (Paragraph 1, Article 11 of the Anti-Corruption Act)
- A person who offers, promises or gives a bribe or other unjust benefit to a public official to perform his official duties (Paragraph 2, Article 11 of the Anti-Corruption Act)
Bribing Foreign Public Officials:
- A person who offers, promises, or gives a bribe or other unjust benefit to a public official of a foreign country, Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao to perform his official duties or to procure a breach of his official duties related to international trade, investment or other business activities (Paragraph 3, Article 11 of the Anti-Corruption Act)
Defenses and Mitigation Measures:
- A person who commits an offense specified above and voluntarily surrenders himself for trial may have his penalty waived; where such person confesses during the investigation or trial, his penalty may be reduced or waived. (Paragraph 5, Article 11 of Anti-Corruption Statute)
- A person who commits an offense specified above with money, property or unjust benefit of less than NTD50,000 may have his penalty reduced. (Paragraph 2, Article 12 of Anti-Corruption Statute)
- There is no exemption for facilitation payments.
Hospitality accepted by a public official may only be allowed in the limited circumstances stipulated in the Integrity and Ethics Guidelines for Public Officials (公務員廉政倫理規範) (the “Guidelines”). Pursuant to the Guidelines, generally, the value of each gift must not exceed NTD500. For certain special occasions, such as an engagement, wedding, promotion, retirement and other specified occasions, the value of each gift must not exceed NTD3,000. The total value of gifts received from the same source in one year must not exceed NTD10,000.
Extraterritorial application ‒ Yes
If an offense is committed outside the territory of Taiwan, the offender shall be punished in accordance with the Act, regardless of whether the offense is punishable under the law of the place where the offense is committed. (Paragraph 6, Article 11 of the Anti-Corruption Act)
Criminal Code
Articles 121, 122, 123 and 131 of the Criminal Code – The provisions in the Criminal Code dealing with anti-corruption and the defenses thereof are similar to those contained in the Anti-Corruption Act. However, bribing a public official to perform his official duties is not punished under the Criminal Code. When both the Anti-Corruption Act and the Criminal Code apply, the former, being a specialized law, shall govern.
Penalties
Anti-Corruption Act
For an individual:
- Imprisonment for a period between one year and seven years, and a fine of up to NTD3 million (Paragraph 1, Article 11 of the Anti-Corruption Act)
- Imprisonment for up to three years or detention and/or a fine of up to NTD500,000 (Paragraph 2, Article 11 of the Anti-Corruption Act)
Criminal Code
- For an individual:
Imprisonment for up to three years and/or a fine of up to NTD90,000 (Paragraph 3, Article 122 of the Criminal Code)
Corporate Liability ‒ The Anti-Corruption Act and the Criminal Code do not provide for any corporate offense against legal entities.