Tuomioja criticises bribery advice in book on Russian trade

State Prosecutor to examine legality of instructions

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Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) has sharply criticised the attitudes toward bribery expressed in a Finnish guide for people doing business in Russia. On his web site, Tuomioja suggests that the content of the guide should be investigated to see if it falls within the framework of incitement to commit a crime.
      On Friday last week Helsingin Sanomat published an article concerning a book published by the Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce, which gave detailed advice on how to offer bribes in Russia, and what the bribes should comprise.
      Under the existing law on freedom of expression, possible charges would be filed by the Prosecutor General's office.
      State Prosecutor Jarmo Rautakoski, head of the prosecution affairs unit of the Prosecutor General's office, acquired the book immediately after reading the article on Friday. However, he says that he has not yet read the guide.
      One possible indictment could be for public incitement to commit a crime. The Prosecutor General's office has investigated one similar case under the new law on freedom of expression: the book in question was a guide for the care of horses, parts of which were seen by some as an incitement to animal cruelty. However, no charges were filed in the case.
     
Pekka Koskinen, Professor of criminal law at the University of Helsinki, does not feel that it is likely that charges will be filed over the guidebook.
      Koskinen notes that in the criminal law, incitement and aiding and abetting are forms of participation in a specific crime. This means that to prosecute, it would first be necessary to establish a concrete case of bribery that had actually been committed. "We would also need a concrete indication that the person committing bribery had specifically followed the instructions in the guidebook."
      The prosecutor would also have to prove that the writer had a deliberate intention to incite the readers to commit bribery.
      "A direct connection with the crime would require some kind of deliberate intent on the part of the writer."


Links:
  Book on trade with Russia gives instructions on bribery (21.1.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat