Clifford Chance
A safe haven from which to plan foreign bribes: The lack of extra-territoriality of Hong Kong's anti-bribery laws
29 August 2014
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ("CFA") has confirmed that Hong Kong's much feted anti-graft laws do not apply to conspiracies made in Hong Kong to offer bribes abroad, whether to foreign public officials or private corporations, even if the bribes result in a benefit to a Hong Kong company.
In its 6 August 2014 decision, the CFA upheld a lower court's decision to set aside the convictions of two executives for conspiracy to offer bribes to a government official in violation of Section 9(2) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. Because the parties conspired in Hong Kong but the bribes were offered by an agent in Macau, the CFA agreed that Hong Kong did not have jurisdiction over the crime.
