That has to be an autonomous decision of the prosecutor which should not be influenced by anybody,” said Kos, the chair of the OECD working group on bribery. It noted that as a party to the convention, Canada is committed to abiding by its rules, “which requires prosecutorial independence in foreign bribery cases. “In addition, political factors such as a country’s national economic interest and the identity of the alleged perpetrators must not influence foreign bribery investigations and prosecutions,” the statement said. The organization declined to release the letter but said it has asked Canada to respond to the concerns at the next meeting of the working group in June. We will continue to work with and update the working group on the robust and independent domestic processes currently underway in Canada, which the working group has recognized and encouraged,” Adam Austen said.

Source: thestar March 11, 2019 21:33 UTC