Slovakia - Global bribery offenses guide

What is the legal framework governing bribery in Slovakia?

The key piece of legislation concerning the legal regulation of corruption in Slovakia is the Criminal Code

(Act No. 300/2005 Coll., as amended). Pursuant to Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities (Act No. 91/2016 Coll., as amended), legal entities may also be held responsible.

Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 301/2005 Coll., as amended) contains several procedural elements to allow the facilitation of the investigation of corruption (for example, the use of agents in recording evidence of corruption).

Corruption offenses are subject to the jurisdiction of a specialized criminal court (Sec. 14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

 

What constitutes a bribe?

A bribe is defined under Sec. 131 (3) of the Criminal Code as thing or other transaction of property or non-property nature to which there is no legal entitlement.

The bribe may be of any material or immaterial value, counter-services, sexual service, low price of real estate or business share in comparison with the market price, sponsorship, the value of which will be paid in the form of rewards. There are several hidden forms that can be applied.

 

What are the principal offenses under this legal framework?

• Requesting, receiving, or accepting a promise of a bribe – either directly or through an intermediary, for themself or another (passive bribery);

  • and the perpetrator breaches their duties resulting from their employment, occupation, position or function (Sec. 328 of the Criminal Code); or

  • the perpetrator is a public official or a foreign (non-Slovak) public official who acts in the performance of their official duties or in the exercise of their duties with the intent to obtain or maintain a disproportionate advantage or for the purpose of acting or refraining from acting in accordance with their duties or in the exercise of their functions in a manner which damages or is likely to damage the financial interests of the European Union(Sec. 330 of the Criminal Code).

• Offering, promising, or giving of a bribe – either directly or through an intermediary (active bribery);
  • to a person, which breaches their duties resulting from their employment, occupation, position or function or to another person for this purpose (Sec. 332 of the Criminal Code); or
  • to a person in connection with the procurement of a thing of general interest or to another person for this purpose (Sec. 333 of the Criminal Code); or
  • to a public official, to a foreign (non-Slovak) public official or to another person who acts in the performance of their official duties or in the exercise of their duties with the intent to obtain or maintain a disproportionate advantage or for the purpose of acting or refraining from acting in accordance with their duties or in the exercise of their functions in a manner which damages or is likely to damage the financial interests of the European Union (Sec. 334 of the Criminal Code).
• Indirect bribery (Sec. 336 of the Criminal Code) means:
  • the perpetrator (directly or through an intermediary) receives, requests or accepts the promise of a bribe for using or having used their influence on the execution of duties by persons referred to in Sections 328, 329, 330 of the Criminal Code; or
  • the perpetrator (directly or through an intermediary) promises, offers or gives a bribe to another person in order to make that person use their influence on the execution of duties by persons referred to in Sections 332, 333, 334 of the Criminal Code or for having used that influence, or gives, offers or promises a bribe to a third party for the same reason.
• Receiving, requesting, or accepting the promise of an inappropriate benefit - either directly or through an intermediary, for themselves or another (Sec. 336c of the Criminal Code):
  • the perpetrator is a public official who acts in relation to his status or function.
• Providing, offering, or accepting the promise of an inappropriate benefit - either directly or through an intermediary (Sec. 336d of the Criminal Code):
  • to a public official or another person who acts in relation to his status or function as a public official.

In Slovakia there is also specifically regulated electoral corruption and sport corruption.

 

What is the jurisdictional reach of the legal framework?

For bribery offenses under the Criminal Code, the Slovak authorities may take jurisdiction where any act or omission which forms part of the offense takes place in the territory of the Slovak republic, whether committed by a natural person or a legal entity. They are considered to been committed in the territory of the Slovak Republic even if the perpetrator (natural person or legal entity) a) committed the act at least in part in its territory, if the violation or threat to the interest protected by the Criminal Code occurred or would have occurred in whole or in part outside its territory, or b) committed the act outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, if the violation or threat to the interest protected by the Criminal Code was to occur here or if at least part of such a consequence was to occur here (Sec. 3 of the Criminal Code and Sec. 2 of the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities).

The Slovak Criminal Code is also applied to determine the criminal liability for an act committed outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, e.g.:

• by a Slovak national, a foreign national with permanent residency status in the Slovak Republic (Sec. 4 of the Criminal Code);
• by a legal entity with its registered seat in the Slovak Republic, including a branch with its registered seat in the Slovak Republic if the criminal offence was committed within the activities of the branch (Sec. 2 of the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities);
• by a legal entity with its registered seat outside of the Slovak Republic the act was committed for the benefit of a legal entity with its registered office in the Slovak Republic or for the benefit of a natural person who is a citizen of the Slovak Republic or a foreigner who has permanent residence in the Slovak Republic.

 

Who may be liable for bribery? (public officials, private individuals, legal entities etc.)

Private individuals, public officials and legal entities concerned can be prosecuted for bribery offenses under the Criminal Code and Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities.

A company can be held liable under the “principle of attribution of the crime.” Under Section 4 (1) of the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities, a criminal offense is committed by a legal person if it is committed in its favour, on its behalf, in the course of its activity or through it if it has acted:

• as the statutory body or a member of the statutory body;
• as the one who carries out control or supervision of the legal person; or
• as any other person who is authorized to represent or decide on behalf of the legal person.

A company or partnership may be liable for failing to prevent the commission of bribery.

 

Can a parent company be liable for its subsidiary’s involvement in bribery?

A parent company can be liable for its subsidiary’s involvement if the corruption crime can be attributed to parent company according to the principle of attribution under Sec. 4 of the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities. The mere fact that it is the parent company of a company that is criminally liable is not sufficient.

 

Are facilitation payments (i.e. small payments to speed up routine governmental action) considered bribes?

Yes, provided they meet the criteria, facilitation payments are considered bribery, no matter how small the amount.

 

Does the legal framework restrict political and charitable contributions?

A political or charitable contribution could be considered a bribe. This applies if the conditions of one of the essential facts of active (or passive) corruption are fulfilled: that is, if a political or charitable contribution is linked to a breach of an obligation arising from employment, occupation, position or function; or it is linked to the procurement of a thing of general interest in a particular case (e.g. a contribution to a municipality, the building contractor subsequently receiving a building permit); or when a Slovak public official, a foreign (non-Slovak) public official or another person acts in the performance of his official duties or in the performance of their duties with the intent to obtain or maintain a disproportionate advantage or for the purpose of acting or refraining from acting in accordance with their duties or in the exercise of their functions in a manner which damages or is likely to damage the financial interests of the European Union.

 

Does the legal framework place restrictions on corporate hospitality?

The Criminal Code and the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities make no express provisions with regard to corporate hospitality and any financial or other advantage given in that context would have to be assessed by reference to the provisions in the relevant Slovak law.

 

Are there any defenses for bribery offenses?

There are no specific statutory defenses to charges under provisions of the Criminal Code or the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities.

It is a defense for a commercial organization charged with the offense of failing to prevent bribery under Sec. 4 (2) of the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities to prove that it has “adequate procedures” in place to prevent bribery. The adequate procedures are not defined therein.

 

What are the key regulatory or enforcement bodies with regard to bribery?

The prosecution of corruption offenses is carried out by the National Criminal Agency (in Slovak: Národná kriminálna agentúra). The National Criminal Agency is an organizational unit of the Presidium of the Police Force, which is competent to prosecute the most serious crimes.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office supervises the prosecution of corruption offenses and brings the indictment.

Corruption offenses are subject to the jurisdiction of a specialized criminal court (Sec. 14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

 

What are the legal consequences of being found guilty of bribery offenses?

In general, for criminal offenses, the court may impose on the perpetrator, who is a natural person, only:

• Imprisonment (for committing of passive or active bribery, the punishment may be up to 10 years’ imprisonment),
• house arrest,
• compulsory labour,
• monetary penalty (up to EUR 3 million),
• forfeiture of property,
• forfeiture of an item,
• prohibition of activities,
• prohibition of residence,
• prohibition of participation in public events,
• loss of honorary titles and decorations,
• loss of military and other ranks,
• expulsion.

In general, for criminal offenses, the court may impose on the perpetrator, who is a legal entity, only:

• dissolution of a legal entity,
• forfeiture of property,
• forfeiture of items,
• monetary penalty (up to EUR 4 million),
• prohibition from engaging in certain activities,
• prohibition on receiving subsidies or grants,
• prohibition on receiving assistance and support from European Union funds,
• prohibition on participating in public procurement,
• publication of the judgment.

 

Are deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) or other similar settlement mechanisms available?

Yes, bribery offenses can be settled by way of a plea bargaining procedure under Sec. 232 and 233 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It may be offered to both individuals and legal persons.

Conditional Suspension of Criminal Prosecution under Sec. 216 and 217 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Conciliation under Sec. 220 of the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot be applied in corruption offense cases.