Mmegi

Canadian acquittal clears gov’t official

Canadian was charged for over $14 million bribery Kereteletswe allegedly bribed with US Christmas trip Canada appeals the ruling

INNOCENT SELATLHWA Staff Writer

In December 2020, local media reported that the Canadian corruption buster had charged Imex Systems Inc. boss for ‘corruptly’ winning the Botswana P150 million e-government contract.

While Canadian authorities confirmed that they had laid charges against Imex Systems Chief Executive Officer, Damodar Arapakota, for bribing a Botswana public official to favour Imex system in the award of the lucrative tender, the official’s name was never released. It has since come to the fore that the said official is the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) Deputy head honcho Dr Omponye ‘Coach’ Kereteletswe. He was then stationed at Office

of the President as Coordinator, Public Service Reforms.

Arapakota, who was charged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for allegedly bribing Kereteletswe, has been acquitted in a case that the Canadian government had recently touted as evidence of its fight against international corruption.

According to Canadian publication, The Globe and Mail, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found Arapakota, founder and former Chief Executive of Toronto-based Imex Systems not guilty of a charge of bribery of a foreign public official under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. The verdict was announced in January, but reasons for the decision were only released this month.

The report states that in 2022, the Canadian government highlighted the Arapakota case in an annual report to Parliament titled, “Canada’s Fight Against

Foreign Bribery.”

The purpose of that report was to demonstrate the government’s enforcement of its anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. Bribery of foreign officials is a form of foreign interference.

“Arapakota was alleged to have given a benefit to Omponye Coach Kereteletswe, an official of the government of Botswana, by arranging and paying for a Christmas time trip to the United States for him. The trip took place between December, 2015 and January, 2016, and Arapakota maintains that Kereteletswe paid back the money before end of the trip.

In return, the Crown (monarchy) alleged the Botswana official helped Arapakota by providing letters confirming that the government of Botswana had cancelled a contract with another firm, and that it intended to engage Imex for various electronic services. The company provides technology services for governments,” reads an excerpt from the publication.

According to the news article, the case is the first time a defendant charged under the Corruption of Foreign Officials Act has been acquitted by a Canadian court after being successfully defended while other cases resulted in either convictions or pleas.

Justice Rita Maxwell of the Ontario Superior Court reportedly said in her ruling that “it is possible and even probable that Arapakota arranged the US trip in hopes of keeping Kereteletswe motivated to assist Imex.” But she said there was insufficient evidence that the letters represented a material or tangible economic advantage for Imex.

Arapakota reportedly said in an interview that the charges against him have hurt his reputation and his ability to earn a living since they were laid in 2019. “People were hesitant to deal with me,” he said. “I had no income for the last three years.”

His attorneys reportedly said one of his concerns about the RCMP investigation is that the police never travelled to Botswana as part of their probe. He said the case is a lesson for Canadian businesses and executives not only to be cautious when conducting business overseas but also to be wary that Canada may bring a charge under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act without conducing a fullsome investigation first.

The Crown has reportedly filed notice of an appeal of the decision. Jennifer Quaid, a University of Ottawa law professor, reportedly said in an interview that the Canadian government will “not be super happy” with the result of this case, as it prepares for upcoming scrutiny from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Working Group on Bribery. An examiner is said to be visiting Canada in June. “We have weak enforcement on corruption,” she said.

Efforts to get a comment from Kereteletswe by press time hit a snag as he said he was in a meeting and would revert later but never did.

Imex Systems Inc. is a Canadian software products and solution provider to governments, municipalities and public authorities in Canada and internationally. Imex primarily focuses on the e-Government and Smart Cities market that include payments. It helps public sector entities to provide “Any Time, Any Where, Any Device and Any Channel” convenience for citizens to access government services and help with digital transformation of government operations and streamline revenue.

Imex’s various product and service offerings include: iGov - a Digital Government Platform for all levels of governments, which provides all the prebuilt components for building an effective Digital Government and supporting payment processing through multiple channels; iCity - a Smart City Solution; and miGov - a Mobile Government Framework.

Corruption

en-bw

2023-03-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://enews.mmegi.bw/article/281663964242033

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