Countries › Costa Rica › Guide › 13. Regulation › Anti corruption and corporate criminal liability in Costa Rica: Ley 9699 and compliance programmes

Anti corruption and corporate criminal liability in Costa Rica: Ley 9699 and compliance programmes

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Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Since June 2019 companies, including foreign ones operating in Costa Rica, can be criminally liable for domestic bribery, transnational bribery, false accounting and related money laundering. The 2023 OECD driven reform (Ley 10373) widened parent company liability. Fines run from 1,000 to 10,000 salarios base (lower for SMEs), up to 10% of a tender bid with a ten year procurement ban, and a voluntary compliance model can cut the penalty by up to 40%.

USD figures use the Banco Central de Costa Rica reference selling rate of ₡454.82 per US dollar published for 29 October 2026 (indicator 318 on bccr.fi.cr), rounded to the cent. Salario base figures use ₡462,200 for 2026 (Poder Judicial Circular 246-2025 under Ley 7337 art. 2).

Key facts

Corporate criminal liability for bribery	yes Ley 9699 art. 1, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Minimum corporate fine (large company)	1000 salarios baseLey 9699 art. 11(a), as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Maximum corporate fine (large company)	10000 salarios baseLey 9699 art. 11(a), as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Procurement ban for tender related offences	10 yearsLey 9699 art. 11(a), as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Maximum penalty reduction for mitigating factors	40 %Ley 9699 art. 12, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Prison term for transnational bribery	4 to 12 yearsLey 8422 art. 55, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Legal persons are criminally liable for listed offences in the anti corruption law (including art. 55 transnational bribery), listed Código Penal bribery and related offences, and money laundering under Ley 7786 art. 69, without prejudice to the liability of the individuals involved.Ley 9699 (as amended by Ley 10373), art. 1, 2023-09-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Ley 10373 (Gaceta 176, 26 Sep 2023) widened the offence list and scope to meet OECD Working Group on Bribery recommendations.

2. The law applies to Costa Rican and foreign private legal persons domiciled, resident or operating in the country; a foreign company is presumed domiciled if it has an agency, subsidiary or branch or does business there. Parent companies are liable when a controlled subsidiary commits a listed offence and the parent benefits or it acts on its behalf; trusts and groups are covered.Ley 9699 (as amended by Ley 10373), art. 2, 2023-09-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Liability survives mergers, absorptions and spin offs, and apparent dissolutions that keep the same customers, suppliers and staff.Ley 9699, art. 3, 2019-06-10 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. A company is liable for offences committed in its name and for its benefit by its representatives and decision makers, by staff where supervision failed, and by third party intermediaries hired by its managers where supervision failed; it is not liable if the person acted for their own benefit or fraudulently evaded the compliance model.Ley 9699 (as amended by Ley 10373), art. 4, 2023-09-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Corporate liability is independent: it continues even if the individual is not identified or the case against them is closed.Ley 9699, art. 5, 2019-06-10 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. A voluntary organisation, crime prevention and control model must address risk mapping, codes and protocols, financial controls, rules for tenders and dealings with officials, third party due diligence, training, periodic review, disciplinary rules and an external accounting audit, with an autonomous compliance officer (SMEs may assign the role to management).Ley 9699, art. 6 to 10, 2019-06-10 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Fines are 1,000 to 10,000 salarios base, or 30 to 200 for small and 200 to 800 for medium companies; where the offence relates to public procurement in Costa Rica or abroad, the fine is that amount or up to 10% of the bid or award, whichever is greater, plus a ten year ban from public procurement.
Cost to do it: 1,000 to 10,000 salarios base for large companies.
Example: ₡462,200,000 to ₡4,622,000,000 at the 2026 salario base. / About US$1,016,226.20 to US$10,162,261.99.Ley 9699 (as amended by Ley 10373), art. 11(a), 2023-09-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Other penalties include loss of State benefits, bans on subsidies, public contracts and tax or social security incentives (three to ten years, extending to parents and subsidiaries), cancellation of permits or concessions obtained through the offence, dissolution of sham companies, and publication of the judgment at the company's cost.Ley 9699, art. 11(b) to (f), 2019-06-10 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Judges may cut the penalty by up to 40% for self reporting before proceedings, cooperation with new evidence, adopting a compliance model before trial, or showing an effective model was in place before the offence; prosecutors may not use opportunity criteria (discretionary dismissal) for legal persons.Ley 9699 (as amended by Ley 10373), art. 12 and 15, 2023-09-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. The salario base used for fines in laws that refer to Ley 7337 is the monthly base salary of the Oficinista 1 post in the national budget; the Poder Judicial set it at ₡462,200 for 2026.
Cost to do it: ₡462,200 per salario base in 2026.
Example: One salario base: ₡462,200. / About US$1,016.23.Ley 7337; Poder Judicial Circular 246-2025, Ley 7337 art. 2; Circular 246-2025, 2025-12-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Transnational bribery of a foreign public official or international organisation official, directly or through an intermediary, carries four to twelve years in prison (five to fourteen if the act breaches the official's duties) and, for individuals, a fine of up to fifteen times the bribe or benefit.Ley 8422, Ley contra la Corrupción y el Enriquecimiento Ilícito (as amended by Ley 10373), art. 55, 2023-09-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A large contractor's agent bribes a municipal official to win a ₡5,000,000,000 tender (about US$10,993,360.01). The court may fine the company the greater of 1,000 to 10,000 salarios base (₡462,200,000 to ₡4,622,000,000) or up to 10% of the award (₡500,000,000, about US$1,099,336.00), and bar it from public procurement for ten years. If the company self reported and had an effective compliance model before the offence, the judge could cut the penalty by up to 40%.

Step by step

Run a bribery risk assessment covering public contracts, permits, customs and inspections.
Adopt the art. 8 elements (or art. 10 for SMEs) and appoint an autonomous compliance officer.
Put anti bribery clauses and due diligence in contracts with agents, distributors and intermediaries.
Train staff and include the rules in employment and service contracts as art. 8 requires.
Set an internal reporting and investigation path to support early self reporting.

Common traps

Parents can be liable for subsidiaries' offences when they benefit.
Acquiring a company brings its past corporate criminal exposure.
Payments through intermediaries count, so third party controls matter.
The procurement fine can be 10% of the bid if that is higher than the salario base range.

Sources

← Personal data protection in Costa Rica: Ley 8968, PRODHAB, consent and breach noticeAnti money laundering in Costa Rica: who is obligated, KYC, SUGEF registration and fines →

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