Legislators moved to crack down on bribery and corruption late Wednesday, approving the second of 11 bills required to implement the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).
Under the bill, companies that engage in corruption would be shut down for up to five years, and their concession would be canceled. People who bribe public officials, as well as officials who accept bribes, would go to jail for two to eight years.
The bill was approved unanimously in one of the assembly's three 19-member committees that have the power to pass laws. Two legislators from the anti-CAFTA Citizen Action Party (PAC), voted for the bill, which cannot become law until it is approved in a second vote and signed by President Oscar Arias.
Legislators have been working long hours – sometimes meeting until 11 p.m. – to discuss the bills required to implement CAFTA. If they do not pass these bills before Feb. 29, Costa Rica must ask for an extension from the treaty's other signers.
The first CAFTA bill legislators passed will regulate the relationship between foreign firms and their representatives in the United States |
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