Bribery is a crime.
Bribery is a crime that involves giving a bribe to corrupt someone and obtain a favor from them. Typically, this gift , which can take the form of money, gifts, etc., is given to a public official so that he or she can complete or omit an action.
For example: “A criminal judge will be prosecuted for the alleged crime of bribery,” “Justice found the mayor guilty of bribery, who received a car from the company that won the tender to build a bridge,” “My government has banished bribery from the State.”
Some legislation distinguishes between simple bribery (an official receives money to carry out a certain action) and qualified bribery (the bribe is given to prevent or hinder an act).
Examples of bribery
Take the example of a state project for the construction of a hospital. The government decides to call for competition so that construction companies can present their proposals for the development of the building. A businessman decides to bribe (or bribe, in colloquial language) the governor of the province and pays him $200,000 so that his firm is the winner of the contest. The official accepts the gift and determines that the company in question will be the one to build the hospital.
Bribery can also appear between individuals , such as when the manager of a company bribes an employee of a competing company to reveal its secrets.
It should be noted that bribery is a crime and is punishable by law , but it also implies an ethical breach.
Bribery involves giving or accepting a bribe.
A type of crime of necessary participation
Passive bribery is a crime of necessary participation , which means that there must be an offerer and a payer, someone who induces and someone who is induced. According to Carlos Creus Monti , an important figure in criminal law, the necessary codelinquency demonstrates that passive bribery can only exist if a person offers something or makes a promise for a specific purpose, as explained in previous paragraphs.
Therefore, passive bribery requires that an active subject (such as a public official or person in charge of a public service) receive or accept a gift once he or she has accepted the promise from the briber, as a result of what who does his part to repay the latter, which includes illegally taking advantage of his job within the territory in which he has jurisdiction.
The actions that the bribe can expect from the active subject are the following: a fair act, but which will not be compensated, given that it will not be public knowledge; an unjust act; refrain from fulfilling their obligations ; commit a crime, which makes the bribery acquire an aggravated nature .
Active bribery
It is known as active bribery or that which takes place through forcing or forcing a public official, a person in charge of a public service, an arbitrator, a judge or a jury to do or omit an act related to their duties and functions, using violence or threats.
Another difference with passive bribery is that in this case there is no necessary codelinquency, since the induced party is not expected to contribute to the commission of the crime nor is it essential that he accept the gift: active bribery can take place regardless of whether an agreement is reached and, although the passive presupposes an active fact, the same does not occur in the opposite situation.
It is important to highlight that the crime of bribery, whether active or passive, is considered pure activity , since it is not necessary for it to have a result nor for the induced party to accept the proposal .