Countries › Peru › Guide › 13. Regulation › Bribery and corruption offences in Peru: public and foreign bribery, influence peddling, collusion in procurement and private sector corruption

Bribery and corruption offences in Peru: public and foreign bribery, influence peddling, collusion in procurement and private sector corruption

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Offering, giving or promising any advantage to a Peruvian public official is a crime punished with up to six years in prison, and up to eight years when the target is a judge, prosecutor, arbitrator or administrative tribunal member. Bribing a foreign official to win or keep international business carries five to eight years. Convicted individuals also face disqualification and 365 to 730 day fines, and disqualification for corruption crimes lasts five to twenty years. Since 2018, bribery between private companies is also a crime, with up to four years in prison. Companies answer separately for bribery, foreign bribery, influence peddling and procurement collusion under Ley Nº 30424, unless they had an adequate prevention model.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT based amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as listed in the SUNAT UIT table. Fines expressed in UIT are paid at the UIT in force on the payment date. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Active bribery of a public official, maximum prison term	6 yearsCódigo Penal art. 397, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Bribery of a foreign public official, maximum prison term	8 yearsCódigo Penal art. 397-A, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Facilitation payments exception	No Código Penal art. 397 second paragraph, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Disqualification for crimes against public administration	5 to 20 yearsCódigo Penal art. 38, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Private sector bribery is a crime	Yes, up to 4 years Código Penal art. 241-A, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Corporate liability for bribery and related crimes	Yes Ley Nº 30424 art. 1 and 3, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Whoever, in any form, offers, gives or promises a public official or servant a gift, promise, advantage or benefit for them to perform or omit acts in breach of their duties faces four to six years in prison, disqualification under art. 36 num. 1, 2 and 8, and 365 to 730 day fines. If the purpose is an act proper to the official's post without breaching duties, the penalty is three to five years, with the same disqualification and day fines. Offering, giving or promising an advantage to a judge, prosecutor, expert, arbitrator, administrative tribunal member or similar to influence a decision carries five to eight years; to court clerks, witnesses, translators and similar, four to eight years.
Cost to do it: Exposure is personal criminal liability; the company's own exposure is under Ley Nº 30424.
Example: Paying a municipal inspector S/ 2,000 to ignore a missing permit is generic active bribery in breach of duties, four to six years in prison. / A 'facilitation payment' to speed up a lawful act is still a crime under the second paragraph of art. 397: Peru has no facilitation payment exception.Código Penal (Decreto Legislativo Nº 635) art. 397 and 398, as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1243 (El Peruano, 22 October 2016), Art. 397 and art. 398 of the Código Penal, 2016-10-22 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Whoever offers, grants or promises, directly or indirectly, an undue advantage to an official of another State or of a public international organisation, so that the official acts or omits acts of their post, in breach of duties or not, in order to obtain or retain business or another undue advantage in international economic or commercial activities, faces five to eight years in prison, disqualification and 365 to 730 day fines.
Cost to do it: Personal criminal exposure; the company can be liable under Ley Nº 30424 art. 1.
Example: A Lima exporter paying an official of a neighbouring country's customs service to clear goods commits transnational bribery under Peruvian law. / This offence sits alongside foreign laws such as the US FCPA for groups with a US nexus.Código Penal art. 397-A as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1243 (22 October 2016), Art. 397-A, 2016-10-22 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. For crimes against public administration, including art. 382 to 384, 387 to 389, 393 to 401, principal disqualification lasts five to twenty years instead of the general six months to ten years, and is permanent when the offender acts as a member of, or on behalf of, a criminal organisation, among the cases listed in the article. Influence peddling, where someone invoking real or simulated influence receives or asks for an advantage to intercede with an official handling a judicial or administrative case, was also amended by the same decree.
Cost to do it: Personal exposure; disqualification can bar a manager from public contracts and posts for decades.
Example: A consultant who charges a client to 'arrange' a favourable tax court ruling through supposed contacts commits influence peddling even if the contacts are invented. / Success fees for lobbying intermediaries in Peru deserve particular due diligence for this reason.Código Penal art. 38 and art. 400, as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1243 (22 October 2016), Art. 2 of DL Nº 1243 (Código Penal art. 38 and 400), 2016-10-22 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. A partner, shareholder, manager, director, administrator, legal representative, attorney in fact, employee or adviser of a private company, NGO, association, foundation or committee who accepts, receives or solicits an undue advantage to favour another in the purchase or sale of goods or the contracting of commercial services, to the detriment of the company, faces up to four years in prison, disqualification and 180 to 365 day fines, and so does whoever offers or grants that advantage. A separate offence covers corruption inside private entities harming the entity; that offence is prosecuted only by private action.
Cost to do it: Personal criminal exposure; gifts and hospitality policies should cover private counterparties too.
Example: A purchasing manager who takes a kickback from a supplier to award a contract, and the supplier's salesperson who paid it, can both be prosecuted under art. 241-A. / Commercial bribery between private parties is a crime in Peru, not only a contract or employment matter.Código Penal art. 241-A and 241-B, added by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1385 (El Peruano, 4 September 2018), Art. 2 of DL Nº 1385 (Código Penal art. 241-A and 241-B), 2018-09-04 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Companies, Peruvian or foreign when acting in Peru through any corporate, contractual or business form, are liable in the criminal process for, among others, collusion in public procurement (art. 384), active bribery (art. 397), transnational bribery (art. 397-A), specific active bribery (art. 398) and influence peddling (art. 400), when committed in their name or on their behalf and for their benefit. Fines run from two to six times the benefit or 10 to 10,000 UIT, plus bans, closure or dissolution. An adequate prevention model adopted before the crime exempts the company, except when the crime was committed by people with control of it.
Cost to do it: Corporate fines from S/ 55,000 to S/ 55,000,000 when the benefit cannot be measured.
Example: A contractor that won a S/ 20 million road contract through a bribe that yielded S/ 3 million of profit faces a fine of S/ 6 million to S/ 18 million. / About US$1.74 million to US$5.21 million; see the corporate liability page for the prevention model.Ley Nº 30424 as amended by Ley Nº 31740 (El Peruano, 13 May 2023), Art. 1 a), art. 2, art. 3, art. 5, art. 7 and art. 12, 2023-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Offence	Código Penal	Prison	Other penalties
Active bribery, breach of duty	Art. 397 first paragraph	4 to 6 years	Disqualification; 365 to 730 day fines
Active bribery, act within duty	Art. 397 second paragraph	3 to 5 years	Disqualification; 365 to 730 day fines
Transnational bribery	Art. 397-A	5 to 8 years	Disqualification; 365 to 730 day fines
Specific bribery of judges, prosecutors, arbitrators	Art. 398	5 to 8 years	Disqualification; 365 to 730 day fines
Private sector corruption	Art. 241-A	Up to 4 years	Disqualification; 180 to 365 day fines

Main bribery offences after DL Nº 1243 (2016) and DL Nº 1385 (2018).

Worked example

A foreign mining contractor's local manager pays a regional official to speed up a lawful permit. Under art. 397 second paragraph, the manager faces three to five years in prison, disqualification and day fines even though the permit was due. The contractor itself can be fined two to six times the benefit, or 10 to 10,000 UIT, under Ley Nº 30424, unless it proves an adequate prevention model that the manager circumvented.

Step by step

Ban facilitation payments in the code of conduct; Peruvian law makes no exception for them.
Run due diligence on intermediaries, especially those paid success fees for permits, tax or court matters.
Extend gift and hospitality rules to private counterparties because of art. 241-A.
Adopt and document a prevention model under Ley Nº 30424 to protect the company.
Keep procurement contacts with officials documented and channelled through approved staff.

Common traps

There is no facilitation payment exception.
Bribery of arbitrators is specific bribery with five to eight years.
Private commercial bribery is a crime since 2018.
Disqualification for corruption crimes can last up to twenty years or be permanent.

Sources

← Personal data protection in Peru: who is covered, database registration, cross border transfers, 48 hour breach notice, data protection officers and finesCorporate criminal liability and compliance programs in Peru: Ley 30424, the prevention model, SMV technical reports and fines up to six times the benefit →

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