Bribery and corruption charges in Italy
Italian law does not have one offence of bribery. It has a family of them, separated by what the payment was for and by how it came about — payment for the exercise of a function, payment for an act contrary to duty, coercion by the official, and inducement. Which one is charged determines the bracket and, crucially, whether the private party is also liable.
The offences and what separates them
| Offence | Bracket | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Corruption for the exercise of the function | Three to eight years | Art. 318 Criminal Code |
| Corruption for an act contrary to official duty | Six to ten years | Art. 319 |
| Concussion — coercion by the official | Six to twelve years | Art. 317 |
| Undue inducement to give or promise | Six to ten years for the official | Art. 319-quater |
| Trafficking in influence | Where relations with the official are exploited | Art. 346-bis |
| Foreign and international officials | The provisions extended to them | Art. 322-bis |
| Liability of the entity | Proceedings against the company | Legislative Decree 231/2001 |
The two lines that matter most to a private party are coercion and inducement. Where the official coerced, the private party is a victim and is not liable. Where the official induced, the private party is liable too, though on a lesser scale. The distinction between the two turns on whether the official's conduct left any real freedom of choice, and it is the single most argued question in this area.
Foreign officials and foreign companies
The provisions extend to officials of other states, of the European Union and of international organisations. A payment made abroad can therefore be prosecuted in Italy where the conditions on jurisdiction are met, and it will often be prosecuted at home as well, which raises the question dealt with in being prosecuted in two countries.
For companies the exposure is doubled. Alongside the individuals, the entity itself is prosecuted, and its defence is entirely different: whether it had adopted and was actually operating an organisational model capable of preventing offences of that type. It is a defence about systems, not about facts, and it has to be prepared separately from the outset.
How these cases are built
Rarely on a document recording a payment. They are built on intercepted communications, on financial flows reconstructed backwards, on the timing between a payment and a decision, and on the accounts of people who have decided to cooperate.
- The link between payment and act. Where the offence charged is corruption for an act contrary to duty, that act must be identified. Where it cannot be, the charge tends towards the lesser provision.
- The nature of the benefit. Not everything given is a bribe. Hospitality, consultancy fees and commercial courtesies are argued case by case against their commercial justification.
- Interceptions. Every one rests on an authorising order whose grounds and duration can be examined.
- Cooperating witnesses. Their accounts require corroboration, and whether it is genuinely independent is the central battleground.
- Timing. Proximity between a transfer and a decision is treated as significant, and an innocent explanation has to be documented rather than asserted.
Seizure comes first
As in other financial cases, a preventive seizure of the supposed profit usually arrives long before any judgment and can extend by equivalent to unrelated assets. The ten-day deadline to challenge it applies, and the calculation of the profit is the pressure point. The framework is in financial crime investigations in Italy.
One offence that no longer exists
Abuse of office, long the residual charge against public officials, was repealed in 2024, and the repeal was upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2025. That does not mean the conduct is unpunishable: the same facts may fall under embezzlement, refusal of official acts, forgery in a public document, or the offences on public tenders.
For anyone with a case that turned on that provision, the correct question is not whether it has gone but whether the same facts have been reclassified, and whether the reclassification genuinely fits.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one offence of bribery in Italy?
No. There is a family of offences separated by what the payment was for and how it came about, with brackets from three to twelve years.
If the official demanded the money, am I liable?
Where the official coerced, the private party is a victim and is not liable. Where the official merely induced, the private party is liable too, on a lesser scale.
Can a payment made abroad be prosecuted in Italy?
The provisions extend to foreign and international officials, and a payment abroad can be prosecuted here where the rules on jurisdiction are satisfied.
What happened to abuse of office?
It was repealed in 2024 and the repeal was upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2025. The same facts may still fall under other provisions, and whether they genuinely fit is the question.
If an investigation has opened
The first weeks decide the seizure and the shape of the charge. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege.