The Federal Anti-Corruption Law in Public Procurement was published in the Official Journal of the Federationon June 11, 2012. Its purpose is to establish the liability and sanctions to which individuals and entities ofMexican or foreign nationality would be subject as a result of violations stemming from their participation infederal public procurement projects, as well as those sanctions that should be applied to individuals and entitiesof Mexican nationality for violations in international commercial transactions. Such law became effective onJune 12, 2012 and establishes a procedure to investigate and punish individuals and companies involved in actsof corruption at any level of Mexico’s federal public procurement system, and imposes serious economicsanctions on offenders, including a bar against participation in future federal public procurement processes. It isworth mentioning that if the violation occurs through the use of an intermediary, both the recipient of the benefitand the offender will be punished. It is important for those companies participating in public bids andprocurement proceedings with the federal public administration to prepare or update their internal policies so that their employees, representatives and subcontractors can gain an understanding of the new law, so that its scope isclearly explained, in order to avoid engaging in any acts or activities prohibited by the new law.
