There’s been plenty of reporting about the Georgian government’s extensive lobbying effort in Washington, but little is known about the new and expansive lobbying effort now in place on behalf of a Georgian billionaire and a leading opposition lawmaker, who are confronting Georgia’s president on the world stage.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is in Washington today, having lunch with Vice President Joe Biden and meeting with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office — a testament to the recent successes in the U.S.-Georgia relationship, as well as the successful efforts of Saakashvili’s Washington lobbying duo, made up of the firms Orion Strategies and the Podesta Group.

“I think Georgia should be extraordinarily proud of the progress that is made in building a sovereign and democratic country,” Obama said after the meeting. “And one of the first things that I did was express my appreciation for the institution-building that’s been taking plac in Georgia; the importance of making sure that minorities are respected; the importance of a police and system of rule of law that is being observed — the kinds of institution-building that is going to make an enormous difference in the future of not just this generation of Georgians but future generations of Georgians.”

But if Saakashvili opened up his morning New York Times or Washington Post when he woke up at Blair House on Monday, he would have seen a full-page ad sponsored by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire tycoon of Georgian descent who is working closely with Irakli Alasania, the leader of Georgia’s Free Democrats Party and the president’s main political rival.

“The Rose Revolution of 2003 inspired many, myself included, to hope that Georgia would move toward a pluralistic democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights, and a free and open society,” Ivanishvili wrote in the ad, which was framed as an open letter to Obama. “What we have instead is a super-centralized, almost neo-Bolshevik style of governance, which exhausted itself long ago, which not only impedes the nation’s progress, but also jeopardizes its own achievements.

“We urge the leaders of the USA and the entire democratic community, do proceed and encourage the nation’s movement towards the Euro-Atlantic integration, and at the same time, do apply all assets available to secure free and fair ballot for our citizens at the October 2012 parliamentary elections,” the ad reads.

The ad identifies Ivanishvili as a Georgian businessman and philanthropist who was stripped of his citizenship by Saakashvili. The Georgian government contends Ivanishvili never renounced his French citizenship and needs a presidential waiver to hold dual nationalities — a waiver he isn’t likely to get. Regardless, Ivanishvili and his “Georgian Dream” movement are increasingly vocal in Georgia, and now in Washington as well.

Ivanishvili is currently paying the lobbying firm BGR Group $25,000 per month, according to disclosure filings, in a contract signed last November. He is also paying another $20,000 per month to Sam Patten, a Tbilisi-based consultant who is working with BGR on behalf of Ivanishvili, the disclosure records show. That money is paid through a London-based entity called BGR-Garbara, LTD, which the records state is working on behalf of Ivanishvili.

BGR-Garbara, LTD, also pays Patten $10,000 per month to work on behalf of Alasania, according to disclosure filings, to “advise U.S. officials” on political developments in Georgia, and for “arranging meetings with U.S. officials on behalf of the foreign principal [Alasania].”

Another contract filing shows that BGR-Garbara, LTD, also pays BGR an undisclosed sum to work on behalf of Alasania and the Free Democrats. The filing defines BGR-Garbara, LTD, as “a pan-European government affairs and public relations firm engaged by ‘Free Democrats’… for the purposes of promoting a stronger Georgian democracy through fair, open, and honest elections in 2012.” Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker is also working on the contract for BGR, according to lobbying e-mails sent out by BGR to journalists and non-governmental organizations.

We’re told by two sources that Alasania and Ivanishvili have also recently signed a contract with Patton Boggs, a powerful D.C. lobbying law firm, although no disclosure forms have yet been submitted. Both sources also confirmed that Ivanishvili’s representatives made a pass at the Podesta Group, offering to double their fee to switch teams, but Podesta declined.

Ivanishvili is also working with Sam Amsterdam, the son of Robert Amsterdam, the Canadian lawyer made famous by his defense of imprisoned Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. There’s no disclosure filing for that relationship because Sam Amsterdam is not a U.S. citizen and is not lobbying U.S. officials. Ivanishvili has made statements criticizing Khordorkovsky in the past. Robert Amsterdam is not working with Ivanishvili or his son on the project.

Ivanishvili’s critics paint him as a Russia-funded oligarch whose agenda is anti-Western and therefore anti-American. They point to his seemingly soft stance on Russia, such as when he said of once and future President Vladimir Putin, “the Russian people like this man,” and that Russia “is not the worst example of an undemocratic state.” He has also blamed Saakashvili for the outbreak of war with Russia in 2008.

Ivanishvili’s ties to Russia are not only political, but economic. He made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, and still maintains at least a 1 percent stake in Gazprom, the semi-state controlled energy behemoth. (The Russian Federation and Gazprom are represented in Washington by Ketchum).

Patten, in a phone interview from Tbilisi, told The Cable that the Georgian opposition is simply maturing to the point where it recognizes the need for greater international stature.

Ivanishvili made his money in Russia before Putin’s return to power, Patten said. Ivanishvili believes that confronting the Georgian government’s lobbying in Washington is part of his effort to show the world there is an alternative to the Saakashvili government.

“In the Georgian mentality, there’s a sense that Washington creates outcomes, but you have to win an election based on what you do on the ground,” said Patten. “In the end, that’s what matters.”

Regardless, for Georgia-watchers around Washington, there are now two full fledged lobbying efforts to contend with. In a recent interview, Ivanishvili promised to ramp up his lobbying efforts around the world.

“They [the government] are spending a lot of money on lobbyists… The money of the people… They are wasting the money of the poor people,” he said. “We have started very serious work and it needs to be organized well. In a few months, we will change the situation and we will change the attitude of the Europe and the U.S., and we will show them the reality. You will see this very soon.”

Correction: This article originally stated — incorrectly — that DLA Piper was the third lobbying partner for the Georgian government. In fact, there are only two firms. Additionally, the original article contained a quote attributed to Alasania that could not be independently verified.

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Today, Georgia stands at the doorway of that achievable ‘dream’ in that it seems clear tangible change is on the way. Such change is brought to us by Bidzina Ivanishvili and his newfound ‘Georgian Dream Movement’.

It’s been brought about to bring the one thing that has hindered the political landscape from being competitive. Resources have allowed a President, who many view as having visions of Putinism dancing in his head, to assume that the upcoming elections were his to landslide. And therefore it is resource that the Georgian Dream provides to facilitate free and fair elections, to assist two leading opposition parties in order to effectively compete – giving them the ball and asking them to run.

Many believe that the United National Movement (UNM) has lost touch with reality starting from the end of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. That monopolization from the ruling party in every major financial sector has hindered foreign investment, which in turn trickles down to hinder quality of life.

Those who wish to join the movement online risk heavy consequences – most of the fans of the movement are avatars. But what is particularly ‘moving’ is that these avatars ‘add’ each other, chat, share and begin healthy debate as to where Georgia’s political priorities truly lie.

Irakli Alasania, chairman of the Free Democrats party and former Georgian Ambassador to the UN, believes that no President should seek office after two terms and believes the time is now to put a focus on economic reinvigoration, agriculture, territorial integrity through diplomacy and fostering the talent in Georgia to build a new shared future. The Georgian Dream is helping make these ideas a reality through the opportunity for parties like Alasania’s to compete. For if a dream is shared, from business to business, voter to voter, it could very well become a free and fair reality.

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Then there is the case of Akwa Ibom State.

Governor Godswill Akpabio, in a few short years, has tangibly fulfilled his promise of ‘uncommon transformation‘. In Uyo, hospitals are being built, bridges are connecting business to business, an entertainment complex is quickly on the rise and the maritime potentials of the state are soon to be unlocked.

A railroad linking Uyo with Port Harcourt is the latest endeavor of the Akwa Ibom State Government to benefit economic development throughout the state and indeed the country.

Governor Akpabio was quoted by the Vanguard as stating that “…it was important to link all states, economic zones and mining areas with railways for easy movement of goods and people. The Ibaka Seaport  has the added advantage of proximity and centrality to deep offshore operations and the West Africa Region Joint Development Zone including Sao Tome, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Gabon. Added to this is the availability of ample undeveloped land.”

Next on the agenda? The Governor stated that his administration plans to build an Industrial City on the area the seaport is located, adding that “the Ibom Industrial City would be an industrial mix of oil and gas-based support services, dockyard and watercraft repair facilities, fertilizer plant, oil refinery, gas-to-liquid projects, petrochemical industries, power plant and [along with] the Ibaka Seaport, promises to be self-sustaining.”

He said that when fully operational, the industrial city would employ 100,000 people and increase the export base of the nation.

It should indeed be noted that Governor Akpabio commended Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan for the Federal Government’s acceptance to develop the seaport.

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“…We did so because we saw an important opportunity to give a fresh impetus to the OIC’s long-standing objectives of promoting modernization in the Muslim world in line with the values of Islam based on peace, tolerance and human dignity. As a country both in Europe and Asia, we do not believe in the Samuel Huntington theory of the “Clash of Civilizations.” Over the past 20 years the advance of globalization, the expansion of free markets and the rise of “emerging” economies from Asia to Latin America have created new linkages rather than the re-emergence of old divisions predicted by Prof. Huntington. Kazakhstan’s own experience as a predominantly Muslim nation with more than 100 ethnic groups and 40 religions and with no history of either inter-religious or inter-ethnic enmity or bloodshed is also a case in point.

Of course, there have been pronounced tensions between parts of the Islamic and Western worlds as a result of radicalization on both sides, most notably after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Violence has no place in the Islamic tradition or any other great world religion and is condemned outright by true believers whatever their faith. So there is every reason to believe that extremists driven to violence will remain the marginal figures that they are, disowned by the religions that they falsely claim to represent.

The “Arab Spring” has thrown into sharp relief the lack of progress in parts of the Islamic world, underlined by the inability of a number of countries to address mounting economic and social problems. Addressing the root causes of these states’ stalled development and integrating them into the global mainstream is an urgent priority that will prevent potential radicalization of attitudes toward the West.

We believe that the OIC’s main focus should be on promoting economic development and competitiveness through trade and investment policies based on effective investment in education, science and technology. Average GDP per capita in OIC countries is $9,500 while in European Union countries it is over $24,000. There are also disproportionate imbalances of wealth among OIC countries with 10 out of the 57 member states producing 80 percent of combined economic output. Several leading economies in the Islamic world are too dependent on raw materials and need to diversify their development. History shows that countries that rely too heavily on natural resources end up with distorted economies that are vulnerable to swings in commodity prices. This is a challenge that Kazakhstan has known for some time it could face. To meet it effectively, we have been investing rapidly in industrial and innovation sectors while attracting foreign capital and upgrading our education system. We have made this a top priority even though we have been able to increase average incomes of the people of Kazakhstan by 17 times since independence in 1991.

The Islamic countries have a rich cultural, intellectual and scientific heritage that was a foundation for the development of the West. In the 10th century, Cordoba in southern Spain was the capital of the Caliphate of Cordoba, and Europe’s intellectual center. Baghdad, Toledo and Alexandria were also intellectual hubs for world civilization.

Islamic countries need to ask themselves how it is that the Islamic world has lost its previous intellectual pre-eminence and how it can restore it. To contribute to the process of gaining greater development of and recognition for the Islamic world Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev has put forward a number of major initiatives, including the establishment of a dialogue platform for the 10 leading Islamic economies, the creation of an international center of innovations, support for small and medium-sized businesses in the Islamic world, and the development of a system of food security within the OIC.

We also firmly believe that the Islamic world can begin to rebuild its influence by demonstrating leadership at the global level, addressing problems that Western countries cannot resolve on their own. In particular, we are encouraging the OIC to focus on Afghanistan and contribute to peace-building efforts, through educational and technical assistance programs to confront, especially the increasingly serious problem of drug trafficking. In August, the OIC proved its ability to react fast and effectively by creating a special assistance trust fund to provide humanitarian assistance to Somalia. $500 million has already been pledged in support. The OIC is an important player in Somalia and can help put this country back on its feet together with other international organizations, including the European Union. We have invited our European partners to discuss possible coordinated measures to assist Somalia.

As a country that unilaterally renounced its status as a nuclear weapon state, we are strongly committed to global nuclear disarmament. Kazakhstan dismantled the world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal and was the first to unilaterally shut down one of the world’s largest nuclear test sites. Kazakhstan initiated a special OIC resolution urging further efforts to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons. We have also given our backing to establishing within the OIC a conflict prevention and mediation capability.

Through concerted actions to solve global problems, OIC countries can do much to raise the profile of the Islamic world and address misperceptions in the West about the nature of Islam. Just as there should be no place for hatred of the West in the Islamic world, there should be no Islamophobia in the West. At the same time, key Islamic countries need to focus on solutions to their problems of political and socioeconomic development by raising the living standards of their citizens and creating stability. Leadership in the global arena begins at home.”

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A confidential memo released by Wikileaks says that in July 2007, Branson was due to hold a secret meeting with South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela and other senior African statesmen to discuss persuading President Mugabe, now 87, to step down.

The initiative is said in the cable to have been brokered by Zimbabwean politician Jonathan Moyo, but never came to fruition. Last night Sir Richard Branson’s office acknowledged that he had been approached by Mr Moyo to discuss ”ways to broker a peaceful reconciliation in Zimbabwe” but no further action was taken.

Sir Richard Branson owns a luxury game lodge and a chain of gyms in South Africa and takes a strong interest in the Southern African region’s politics. Last year, on the sidelines of the United Nations poverty summit in New York, he launched Enterprise Zimbabwe – an fund aimed at attracting western investors scared off by the political instability in Zimbabwe.

The cable, dated 10 July 2007 and classified by the US ambassador Eric Bost to South Africa, states: “UK businessman Richard Branson is bankrolling an African ‘Elders’ initiative to convince Zimbabwean President Mugabe to step down. The ‘Elders’ plan to meet secretly in Johannesburg July 17-18 with Branson to discuss their initiative.”

The cable says the planned July 2007 meeting was to include Mandela, former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan, as well as the former presidents of Namibia, Zambia, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya and Botswana. Former US president Jimmy Carter was also mentioned as a possible participant.

The memo identifies Mr Moyo, a controversial figure in Zimbabwean politics, as “working with Branson on the plan“. Mr Moyo’s career has seen him flip-flop in and out of favour with the ruling Zimbabwean African National Union – Patriotic Front. At the moment, he is back in favour, acting regularly in an information role.

The cable says: “Moyo reached out to Branson, who owns Virgin Atlantic airlines as well as a game lodge and chain of gyms in South Africa, in early June to suggest the involvement of the former African leaders. Branson agreed to fund the initiative, including Moyo’s travel and technical assistance.”

The cable goes into detail about Moyo’s plan, adding that he proposed the Elders visit Mugabe and urge him to support a new constitution, giving him the chance to select an executive prime minister in exchange for standing down.

Moyo is even quoted as suggesting ”a script” for the elders’ encounter with the Zimbabwean president, including stressing that ”they respect him” and want to protect his ”proud legacy”.

Asked last night by The Independent for his views on the leaked cable, Dr Moyo, who is a member of the Zanu-PF Politburo, initially said he could not comment on information ”given to the US ambassador by a third party” he named as the International Crisis Group.

Later however, in a lengthy phone call, Dr Moyo admitted having met Sir Richard Branson in a check-in queue at O.R Tambo airport in Johannesburg in April 2007. ”We chatted for about an hour and a half. He told me that he was setting up a group of Elders with Peter Gabriel. When he learnt that I was an MP he was interested in my views. Mr Branson is a good man. We exchanged phone numbers and emails.”

Dr Moyo denied initiating a meeting with Mr Branson and claimed that the Virgin millionnaire had phoned him as a follow-up to the airport encounter. ”He asked my advice on who to appoint to his panel of Elders. I told him that the names he was proposing, including Desmond Tutu, were non-starters in Zimbabwe and I gave him more suitable names, including the former presidents of Namibia, Zambia, Ghana and Mozambique.”

However the cable appears to be informed by conjecture. The Elders – a group of prominent figures and former statesmen and women who receive financial support from Branson – were launched on 18 July, 2007, a week after the cable was written. Apart from Nelson Mandela, they do not include the former African presidents named as putative participants in the July 2007 meeting. The Elders did not begin working on the Zimbabwean crisis until the following year.

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As its first order of business, Kazakhstan made nuclear responsibility a national mandate, renouncing all nuclear weapons and shutting down the test site in Semipalatinsk, where over 400 detonations once took place.

To mark the closure of the test site and the ongoing efforts to raise awareness to the devastating impact nuclear radiation can have on innocent lives, Kazakhstan will be holding an International Forum for a Nuclear Weapon Free World in Astana, October 12-13.

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“The people of Zambia have spoken and we must listen,” outgoing President Rupiah Banda said on the website of his Movement for Multiparty Democracy. “The time now is for maturity, for composure and for compassion.”

Zambians voted Tuesday in the presidential election.

The incoming president, Michael Sata, will be sworn in Friday, party officials said.

Sata is the leader of the opposition Patriotic Front and a major critic of China’s investment in the nation.

Ten candidates took part in the presidential race .

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Aral City’s vice-mayor Kolbai Danabaev can’t wait to have a beer by the sea shore. He is optimistic: he thinks he’ll be able to do so in two years time.

Aral City, in western Kazakhstan, on the northern tip of the Aral Sea, has the trappings of a beach spot: sun, sand, and locally-brewed Aral Beer. But, while Kolbai Danabaev and other city officials are happy to pose for PR photos with the local brew in hand, in the background, something crucial is missing.

There is no sea.

The port today is a fisherman’s paradise lost. The shoreline is nowhere in sight. The dry and dusty sea bed stretches into the horizon, the sea having receded 20 kilometres away.

Some 24 native freshwater species could be caught in the Aral Sea. Fish was such a central part of the cuisine of this town that the pike-perch, with its delicate flavor and small bones, was used instead of boiled meat in the local version of the Kazakh national dish, beshbarmak. This is quite something in a meat obsessed country.

Now, the restaurants here don’t serve fish, as it is too costly for most locals to eat. Indeed, the only fish on view are in the city’s museum, sealed up in display jars.

Aral Sea catastrophe

Aral was once the world’s fourth largest lake, but Soviet-era irrigation projects, beginning in the 1960s began to divert the water from the two rivers that flow into it, the Syr Darya, and the Amu Darya. By 1980, the sea had shrunk to 17 per cent of its original land area, and 9 per cent of its water volume. The images pictured here show the extent to which the sea shrunk between 2000 and 2009.

The water became so salinated that native freshwater fish species were unable to survive, and the communities around the sea had to make do with the flatfish flounder, a saltwater species introduced in the 1970s. Salt and ‘toxic dust’ from pesticide and fertiliser residues left on the bottom of the sea was carried by the wind, causing human health and environmental damage.

And so, with the water and the fish gone went the jobs, and much more. Fish processing and ship building in Aral City, supporting some 6,000 people, ground to a halt. Many families in the surrounding 24 villages in the region, facing unemployment, packed up and left for the city of Kyzylorda, 450 kilometres away.

Local teacher and translator, Akmaral Utemisova, says, ‘During school lessons, we ask the children to imagine what the sea would be like,’ she says. ‘None of the children under 15 have ever seen it.’

Back from the brink?

For years, the Aral Sea catastrophe was not addressed. By 1990, the damage was so severe it had split into two parts – the Northern Sea bordering on Kazakhstan and the larger South Sea in Uzbekistan.

Despite regional efforts to restore sea levels by the five Central Asian countries through the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) created by Kazakh president Nursultan Nazerbayev in 1993, there were only temporary results.

Then in 2003, the Kazakh government, along with the World Bank, began work on the joint $64 million Northern Aral Sea restoration project, including the eight mile Kok-Aral dam, completed in 2005. The dam will allow water to accumulate in the Northern Sea and help restore delta and riverine wetland ecosystems as well as sustaining and increasing agriculture and fish production in the region.

The second phase of the project begins this year, although, according to Kazakh vice minster for Environmental Protection, Mazhit Turmagambetov, there is an issue with finding funding to match the amount proposed by the World Bank.

Wishfully, Nahmadin Musabasev, Aral City’s mayor, says he believes the second phase of the project will deliver the Aral Sea back up to the city by 2013, although according to IFAS chairman Saghit Ibatullin, it will probably be no earlier than 2018.

Kok-Aral Dam

It is jarring to drive on what was once the Aral Sea. The Ecologist is en route to see the Kok-Aral Dam, some three-hours from Aral City on the border between the North and South Aral Sea and the delta of the Syr Darya River. The desertified sea bed is now home to camels and horses, grazing lazily on bits of grass. A couple of ships lie stranded along the drive, but the fabled ship cemeteries have gone, the victims of looting for scrap metal.

Once the water comes into to view, it isn’t the rich wetland ecosystem it once was, but there are now signs of life returning. A few herons, ducks, storks and seagulls can be seen along the shoreline.

Already the Kok-Aral dam has provided a lease on life for the nearby villages. Water levels, which originally were 53 metres above Baltic Sea level, and at the lowest, 38 metres, have now increased to 42 metres above Baltic Sea level. Salinity has decreased 5 times, which has enabled 7 fish species to return, and fish catch has increased 10-12 times.

The Ecologist visits a small fish processing centre near Karaterren village. Along with flounder, there is carp, pike perch, and catfish all caught on the day using small motor boats. Batyrkhan Brekeev, a fisherman and the son and the father of fishermen, recently returned to fishing after years as a ‘businessman’.

Fish catch is now heavily regulated and enforced, the fishermen say, through quotas and inspections. In the last year a total of 2,500 tonnes of fish were processed in the 3 processing plants in Aral City. Mayor Nahmadin Musabasev says the catch should rise to 12,000 tonnes by the end of the second phase of the World Bank project. Increased efficiency of irrigation will provide more River water flowing into the sea.

Fish stocks are bolstered by a hatchery in nearby Kozhar village, which releases millions of eggs of various species every year.

Future threats

The success of the restoration project can only be seen in light of the reality that the project ensures the existence of only the North Aral Sea. There is much concern over the future of the South Aral Sea, bordering on Uzbekistan.

It was an extreme decision to save the Kazakh part of the sea, essentially preventing water from the Syr Darya River to flow down into the Uzbek area.

The Syr Darya River is the main source of inflow to the northern, or Small Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, while the Amu Darya, enters the lake from Uzbekistan.

Kazakh vice minister Mazhit Turmagambetov says ‘What we can do is regulate the water from the Syr Darya River going into the smaller sea, but the total Aral Sea depends on Uzbekistan.’

According to Vadim Ni, Director of the Law & Environment Eurasia partnership, which supports legal expertise to environmental campaigns, the Aral Sea Restoration Project is a success but, ‘There are conflicting interests. Uzbekistan has no interest in restoring the Aral Sea. They want to use the water for cotton irrigation. They are not trying to conserve’.

How did the Uzbek government respond to the Kok-Aral Dam limiting water into their part of the Aral Sea? According to Saghit Ibatullin, the chairman of IFAS, whose executive committee includes the Uzbek government, there was ‘no problem’. Instead, Uzbekistan continues to prospect for for oil and gas deposits in the Aral Sea.

In Karaterren village, near the Kok-Aral dam, the community is beginning to rebuild. We are treated as honourable guests and given a traditional meal of pike-perch, meat and bolsak, or fried bread at the mayor’s house. His wife is expecting their sixth child, with 5 daughters already.

By 1997, half of the 500 families of this village had moved away. Now they are gradually coming back, 14 families returning in the last 3 years. Raising a vodka glass in toast, he adds, ‘so have the fish’.

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Niko’s sentence included a $9.5 million fine and a three-year probation order that requires the company to implement a detailed compliance program subject to review by an independent auditor. Prior to Niko’s conviction, only one Canadian company had been convicted of foreign bribery under the CFPOA in the past decade. The $25,000 fine issued by the court in that case, known as R. v. Hydro Kleen Services Inc., was less than the bribe involved.

The Niko prosecution is a signal that Canada is serious about ramping up enforcement of the CFPOA. The guilty plea comes shortly after Canada was criticized by two international organizations for ineffective enforcement of anti-bribery legislation. In May 2011, Transparency International, a group that monitors global corruption, issued a report that criticized Canada for failing to enforce its foreign bribery laws, noting that the Canadian legal system and courts “do not handle complex ‘white collar’ criminal cases very well.” This followed a similar report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery, published in March 2011, which found that “Canada’s regime for enforcement of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act remains problematic in important areas.”
Canada’s foreign bribery legislation
The CFPOA was enacted in 1999 and brought Canada into compliance with the 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

The CFPOA prohibits giving or offering to give a benefit of any kind to a foreign public official, or any other person for the benefit of the foreign public official, where the ultimate purpose is to obtain or retain a business advantage. It is applicable both to individuals and corporations, whether acting directly or through an agent or third party. An individual need not be Canadian to be charged. The extraterritorial reach of the CFPOA means that a Canadian business could be liable in Canada and elsewhere: double jeopardy does not apply.

Violation of the CFPOA is an extraditable offense punishable, in the case of an individual, by imprisonment for up to 5 years. A company can receive an unlimited fine for failing to prevent bribery. There is no limitation period for indictable offenses. Because sanctions under the CFPOA are solely criminal, proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” is required.

Unlike parallel enactments in most other OECD countries, whose jurisdiction is based on the nationality of the accused, the CFPOA only applies when the bribery has a “real and substantial” connection to Canada (i.e., presence, action or effect in Canada). However, the involvement of a Canadian parent or subsidiary may be sufficient to trigger its application. In 2009, the Minister of Justice introduced legislation (Bill C-31) that would have added provisions to the CFPOA based on the nationality principle so that, in certain cases, offences committed outside Canada would be deemed to have been committed in Canada. However, it died on the order paper with the prorogation of Parliament in December 2010 and has not since been reintroduced.

Anti-Bribery in the United States and the United Kingdom
The United States (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) and the United Kingdom (Bribery Act) also have legislation that prohibits the bribery of public officials and makes it a crime at home to bribe foreign officials or fail to maintain appropriate accounting records that would reveal such corruption. Canadian and American anti-bribery offenses are similar, making compliance less complex for corporations that fall within both jurisdictions. The UK’s Bribery Act, enacted on July 1, 2011, is in some respects stricter than its Canadian and U.S. equivalents. For example, rather than dealing only with bribery of government officials, the Bribery Act also covers corruption between commercial entities.

The limited number of convictions under Canada’s anti-bribery legislation contrasts with the situation in the United States, which has dramatically increased its enforcement in recent years. Significant fines – frequently in excess of US$100 million and ranging as high as US$800 million – have been levied on companies under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act: No Longer a Paper Tiger
The Niko case indicates that Canada is stepping up its enforcement of the CFPOA. The RCMP has indicated that its International Anti-Corruption Unit, established in 2008 with offices in Ottawa and Calgary, is currently conducting over 20 investigations of Canadian companies allegedly involved in overseas bribery. There is also a pending case involving an individual accused of bribing an Indian government official in connection with a contract for the supply of a security system.

In light of the above, Canadian companies with business activities overseas (especially in countries with high levels of corruption) would be well advised to review their processes and to implement adequate corporate compliance programs, which should include the following key elements:

• proportionate procedures, including regular and comprehensive auditing, as well procedures for the reporting of potential violations;
• top-level commitment: identification of an authoritative officer within the company who is responsible and accountable for anti-bribery compliance;
• risk assessment of business projects involving business with other countries;
• extensive due diligence of business projects involving business with other countries;
• communication strategy (including training programs for employees and officers); and
• monitoring and review of relationships with foreign government and business partners to establish and document compliance with anti-bribery legislation.

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“I don’t know the reason of their detention. I only know that Irakli and Natia are detained”, Marina Andghuladze said.

Photo reporter of Georgian MFA Giorgi Abdaladze is also detained.

InterPressNews has been informed a while ago about the detention of the photo reporter Zurab Kurtsikidze, who is in the so-called “Moduli” building. Details and reasons behind the detention are not known yet but the Arcadia Foundation will keep our readers up to speed on any new information that is divulged.

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