China Criminal Law amendment / Bangladesh e-procurement in judiciary / Malaysia meat scandal officials

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China amends Criminal Law to increase penalties for private-sector bribery (Blog).  “Unlike the [US] Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which focuses primarily on whether a recipient of a corrupt payment is a government official, Chinese law distinguishes between “state functionaries” (i.e., those who perform “public duties”) and non-state functionaries. This distinction depends on the individual’s level and duty, rather than the employer, so mid-level or low-level employees of government agencies and state-owned enterprises are unlikely to be deemed as “state functionaries” under Chinese law.”

Helen Hwang and Shuai Kong/The FCPA Blog: https://fcpablog.com/2021/01/05/china-amends-criminal-law-to-increase-penalties-for-private-sector-bribery/  

 

E-procurement vital to reduce corruption.  “[Bangladesh’s] Law Minister Anisul Huq said the e- procurement system is very much important in reducing corruption in the government's procurement issues and to purchase accurate items at a reasonable price. People's participation will be increased and transparency will be ensured if the e-procurement system is properly implemented in all sectors including the judiciary, he said.”

The Daily Star: https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/e-procurement-vital-reduce-corruption-2023229  

 

Johor MACC nabs quarantine and inspection duo over ‘meat cartel’ scandal.  “Two officers from the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) have been arrested by state graftbusters...on suspicion of being involved in corrupt activities related to the issue of smuggling of frozen raw materials… that do not have the required Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) halal certification.”

Ben Tan/Malay Mail: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/07/johor-macc-nabs-quarantine-and-inspection-duo-over-meat-cartel-scandal/1938094

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