The Egyptian Penal Code No. 58 for the year 1937 (“EPC”) is the primary legislation for anti-bribery regulations in Egypt. There are several other legislations related to anti-bribery and corruption, which include:

• The Anti-Graft Law No. 62 for the year 1975; 
• The Criminal Procedure Law No. 150 of 1950;
• The Anti-Money Laundering Law No. 80 for the year 2002;  
• The Civil Service Law No. 81 for the year 2016 and the Public Sector Employees Law No. 48 for the year 1978, which impose administrative disciplinary measures only;
• The Criminal Procedures Law No. 150 of 1950;  and
• The UN Convention against Corruption; ratified in December 2004.

Yes, there has been a specific corruption law (Law No. 106 for the year 2013 for the Prohibition of Government Officials’ Conflict of Interest) enacted in the last ten years in Egypt which prohibits government officials from being involved in a state of conflict of interest. 

There have also been amendments of the above laws in Q1 in the past ten years, as follows:

• The amendment of the EPC in 2018 which introduced Articles 106 b and 111;
• Law No. 36 of 2014 amending some provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Law No. 80 of 2002; and
• Law No. 16 of 2015 amending some provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law No. 150 of 1950 such as Article 18 bis b (Which provide the possibility of a leniency agreement with the enforcement authorities only in cases under chapter four of the second book of the Penal code “Defalcation and Embezzlement of Public Funds".) and Article 208 bis h (Which provide that “Statute of limitations of the criminal lawsuit, over time, does not preclude any financial penalties stipulated in Chapters 3 and 4 of Book 2 of the Penal Code”).  

Yes. A bribe in any form to a domestic government official is prohibited by provisions of Chapter 3 of the Second Book of the Egyptian Penal Code (Articles 103 to 111 of the EPC.)

Article 107 bis of the Egyptian Penal Code states that “The briber and the intermediary shall be punished with the penalty prescribed for the bribe-recipient. However, the briber or intermediary shall be exempted from the penalty if he/she reports the crime to the authorities or admits it”.

The Egyptian Penal Code defines a bribe as any payment, donation or a promise to a public official in order for him to perform or refrain from performing any of his given duties (Article 103 of the EPC).  

It should also be noted that the Egyptian Penal Code stipulates that whoever performs or refrains from performing any of his duties in exchange of a certain privilege, a recommendation or to obtain or try to obtain from any public authority works, rulings, decisions, a position, service or any privilege or benefit of any kind shall practically be regarded as a bribe-recipient and held liable in accordance with the bribery provisions of the Egyptian Penal Code. 

Yes, a bribe payment to a foreign government official is prohibited by Article 106 Bis (b) of the Egyptian Penal Code, which was added to the Law by an amendment dated January 25, 2018.

Article 106 Bis (b) states that:

“Any foreign government official or a public international organization has requested for himself or others, or accepted, or received, a promise or a gift to perform any of his duties, or refrain from performing such duties or violate such duties is considered a bribe-recipient.”  

Yes, requesting or accepting a bribe is prohibited by the Egyptian Penal Code as stipulated in its Articles 103, 104, 105 and 105 bis.

• Domestic government officials, and employees who are legally considered as government officials, as defined in Article 111 of the Egyptian Penal Code.
• Board members, managers or employees in any of the following entities: joint-stock companies, cooperative associations, duly established syndicates, civic associations and national foundations considered legally to be of public interest (Article 105 bis of the EPC).
• Arbitrators, experts, bankruptcy trustees and liquidators, 
• Foreign government officials or Public International Organizations officials.
• Any employee who demands, for himself, or for a third party, or accepts or takes a promise or donation without the knowledge or acceptance of his employer, in order to perform or refrain from performing any of the duties he is charged to fulfill, in accordance with Article 106 of the Egyptian Penal Code (Article 106 of the EPC). 

Yes, however, offenses under Egyptian law are personal, save when the law provides for specific sanctions for juridical persons, which is not the case regarding bribery. The person/s acting on behalf or for the benefit of a company is the person who could be held criminally liable for bribery, including jail time.

If a manager orders an employee to receive a bribe, then both the manager and the employee will be criminally liable.

For bribery of government officials, the stipulated penalty is life imprisonment and a fine not less than EGP 1000 and not exceeding the bribe’s amount. However, if the government official accepts a bribe after he/she conducts any of his required duties without prior arrangement, the penalty is imprisonment and a fine not less than EGP 200 and not exceeding EGP 500 (i.e. post-service bribe or gift)(Articles 103 to 106 of the EPC). 

For bribery of board members, managers or employees in any of the following entities: joint-stock companies, cooperative associations, duly established syndicates, civic associations and national foundations considered legally to be of public interest, the penalty is imprisonment of no more than 7 years and a fine not less than EGP 500 and not exceeding the bribe’s amount (Article 105 bis of the EPC). 

For bribery of any private sector employee as stipulated in Article 106 of the Egyptian Penal Code, the penalty is imprisonment for no more than 2 years and a fine not less than EGP 200 and not exceeding EGP 500 or either penalty.
It should be noted that the briber and the mediator are punished with the same penalty as the bribe-recipient (Article 107 of the EPC).

There is no direct penalty inflicted upon corporate entities. The penalty is inflicted against any employee, manager, executive officer or board member of the corporate entity who is proven to have been involved in the crime of bribery in accordance with Article 105 bis, as stated above (See answer to Question 8). 

No, it does not. However, it can be proven that the charged employee was acting on his own behalf and not representing the company.

There are two cases in which a member of a corporate entity could reach a deferred prosecution agreement or leniency agreement with Public Prosecution in a corruption charge

First: The briber or the mediator of a bribe shall be exempted from the penalty if they notify the crime to authorities or confesses to it (Article 107 bis of the EPC).

Second: The penalty for defalcation or embezzlement of funds, property or documents that are held under a board member or an employee’s position or facilitating such offense for third parties can be waived in exchange of a certain settlement payment to be evaluated by an expert committee formed by the Prime Minister (Article 18 bis (b) of the Egyptian Criminal Procedures Law no. 150 for the year 1950 and its amendment by Law no. 16 for the year 2015). 

In General, leniency agreements are legal in Egypt, however, they are very rarely applied in practice.