Q: I work in a government organization as an officer. We deal with a lot of tenders. Everyday lots of contractors visit us regarding projects. These days we are working on a new tender and a contractor (let’s call him X), who frequently visits us, informed me that his company’s country head is in town and wants to meet us. I asked him to come to our office and meet our team.
X came along with the country head and we discussed technical matters. At the end of our meeting, the country head gave us a gift bag and told us that this is a souvenir from his side for us. We were 3 team members but he brought souvenirs for only the two of the team members. He didn’t give anything to the third person.
Was this ‘souvenir’ a bribe to us? Because the meeting was regarding a tender, but we are not giving them any favours. We are going through the whole tender process as transparently as possible. I am worried whether this souvenir is a bribe or not, because I realised it later on, after he left, that it might be a bribe. We still won’t be giving them any favours on the tender project. If it is termed as a bribe, what should I do now because I have already accepted the gift.
Note: The country head gave us the products that his own company makes, hence called it a souvenir.
A: Precaution requires that you either return the souvenir, or gift it in charity if it is not possible to return it.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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