His Majesty the King in Right of Canada v. Damodar Arapakota (42061)

His Majesty the King in Right of Canada v. Damodar Arapakota (42061)

From Supreme Court of Canada Hearings (Floor Audio) by SCC Hearings Podcast

April 17, 2026 · 1h 12m

About this episode

The episode discusses a legal case involving bribery of a foreign public official and the subsequent appeal process.

The respondent, Damodar Arapakota, was charged with bribing a foreign public official, contrary to s. 3(1)(a) of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, S.C. 1998, c. 34. The Crown alleged that the respondent bribed an official with the government of Botswana by paying for the official’s family vacation in Orlando, Florida, in return for which the respondent received letters confirming the government of Botswana’s intention to award a contract to his company and confirming the value of the prospective contract. The trial judge found that the respondent conferred a material benefit on the official, but that the benefit was not consideration for the letters that the official later provided. She further found that the letters did not rise to the level of a material or tangible economic advantage sufficient to trigger liability under s. 3(1)(a). As a result, she acquitted the respondent. The Crown appealed the acquittal. The majority of the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal finding that while the trial judge misinterpreted one of the elements of the offence at s. 3(1)(a), this error had no impact on the proper disposition of the case. Justice Monahan…

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: government of Botswana, Crown, Court of Appeal for Ontario

Books & works: Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act

More episodes of Supreme Court of Canada Hearings (Floor Audio)

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Supreme Court of Canada Hearings (Floor Audio) podcast page.