The Criminal Code of the Italian Republic criminalizes extortion, active and passive bribery, bribing a foreign public official, fraud and money laundering. Penalties for individuals bribing public officials include imprisonment of up to ten years (bribing a judge carries a maximum penalty of twenty years imprisonment), confiscation of goods, and other penalties including a ban on negotiating with public entities (CMS 2016). When bribes are committed on behalf of a company, the company may be fined up to EUR 1.2 million, debarred from bidding on public tenders, assets may be confiscated, and the company risks having its judgments published (CMS 2016). The anti-corruption framework was last strengthened in 2015, by increasing the scope and punishment of corruption offenses, criminalizing trading in influence in the public and private sectors, and modifying the statute of limitations. It also gives more investigative powers to the National Anti-Corruption Authority (CiVIT), increases whistleblower protections, enhances transparency in public contracts, and bans officials found guilty of corruption from holding certain administrative posts (Lexology, Aug. 2017). Facilitation payments are forbidden (GLI 2017). Gifts are in principle considered bribery, but small gifts deemed a “commercial courtesy” received without conflicting with the responsibilities of the officeholder should be excluded from criminal responsibility (GLI 2017). Various government departments have their own limits on the maximum value of gifts that may be accepted; the general code of conduct for employees of the public administration puts the limit at EUR 150 per gift (GLI 2017). The Code of Conduct of Public Officials (in Italian) includes detailed provisions on transparency, conflicts of interest and gifts. It requires elected and appointed officials at central, regional and local levels – including those who carry out temporary tasks on behalf of public authorities, as well as their relatives – to declare assets (EUACR 2014). Italy’s parliament is discussing a draft whistleblower protection; changes can be expected in the near future (Lexology, Aug. 2017).
Italy is a signatory to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Council of Europe’s Civil and Criminal Law Conventions against Corruption.
