Act 58 2021 - Act 58 - Anti-Corruption (Amendment) (No.3) Act, 2021

[16th December 2021] Supplement to Official Gazette 1045 ANTI-CORRUPTION (AMENDMENT) (NO.3) ACT, 2021 (Act 58 of 2021) I assent Wavel Ramkalawan President 15th December, 2021 AN ACT TO AMEND THE ANTI-CORRUPTION ACT, 2016 (ACT 2 OF 2016). ENACTED by the President and the National Assembly. Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) (No.3) Act, 2021. 1046 Supplement to Official Gazette [16th December 2021] Amendments to Act 2 of 2016 2. The Anti-Corruption Act, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act) is amended as follows — (a) in section 51A of the principal Act, repeal the words “Chapter X”, and therefor substitute the following words “Chapter V, Chapter X, Chapter XXVI, Chapter XXVII, Chapter XXVIII, Chapter XXX, Chapter XXXII, Chapter XXXV”; (b) in section 60 of the principal Act, after subsection (2), the following subsections shall be inserted — “(2A) Notwithstanding any other law, where the Registrar General or any other statutory authority responsible for the registration of property or stamping of instruments under any law has received reasonable information that an investigation by the Commission is ongoing in respect of a property or rights therein, or a proprietor of a property or rights therein, registered with the Registrar General or the statutory authority, the Registrar General or the statutory authority shall — (a) on his, her or its own motion, and without the need to inform the proprietor or the proprietor's agent, delay the registration or stamping of any instrument of disposition or disposal of, or dealing with, the property pending confirmation or otherwise under paragraph (b); and (b) seek confirmation of the investigation from the Commission. (2B) A request for confirmation under subsection (2A)(b) shall be made within 3 days of the information coming to the knowledge of the Registrar General or the [16th December 2021] Supplement to Official Gazette 1047 statutory authority and the Commission shall within a period of 3 days from the date of receipt of the request inform the Registrar General or the statutory authority whether the investigation is proceeding or otherwise. (2C) Where the Commission confirms the investigation under subsection (2A)(b), the Registrar General or the statutory authority responsible for the registration of property shall, without the need to inform the proprietor or the proprietor's agent, delay the registration, disposition or disposal of, or dealing with, the property or any other transaction related thereto for a period of 30 days from the date of such confirmation unless the Commission directs otherwise.”; (c) in section 64 of the principal Act, the marginal note shall be repealed and replaced by “Prosecution by Commission”, and after the words “PART III”, the words “and money laundering offences committed under the Anti-Money Laundering the Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, 2020 (Act 5 of 2020), in furtherance of the said corrupt practices” shall be added; (d) after section 64 of the principal Act, the following sections shall be inserted — Institution of proceedings “64A. Criminal proceedings instituted by the Commission by the powers conferred under section 64 shall be instituted and referred to as “Republic Versus________” or “Anti-Corruption Commission Versus________”. Discontinuance of proceedings 64B. Subject to article 76 of the Constitution, the Commission may discontinue any proceedings instituted under section 64, at any stage before the delivery of the judgement by the Court. 1048 Supplement to Official Gazette [16th December 2021] Prosecution of cases by the Commissioner in person or by a qualified person 64C.(1) The powers of the Commission under section 64 may be exercised by the Commissioner in person or a qualified person. (2) Subject to article 76 of the Constitution and in the exercise of the powers conferred upon the Commission under subsection (1), the Commission shall not be subject to the direction and control of any other person. (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the term “qualified person” means — (a) an Attorney-At-Law employed by the Commission; or — (b) an Attorney-At-Law appointed by the Commission acting in accordance with the general or specific instructions of the Commission; or (c) a person employed or appointed by the Commission for the purpose of conducting proceedings under this Act. (4) A qualified person who is not an Attorney-At- Law shall, before assuming the duties of his or her office, take and subscribe to the oath of office in relation to such office under the Official Oaths Act (Cap. 153) before the Chief Justice or a Judge of the Supreme Court. (5) The Commission shall not later than the 31st January of each year or where the Commission has appointed a person in the course of a year, not later than 30 days after the appointment, notify the Registrar of the Supreme Court of the names and other prescribed particulars of the person employed by the Commission for [16th December 2021] Supplement to Official Gazette 1049 the purposes of subsection (1) and the Registrar shall enter the names and the prescribed particulars of the person in a register kept for this purpose. (6) The Commission shall notify the Registrar of the Supreme Court of the name of any person who is entered on the register referred to in subsection (5), and who has ceased to be employed by the Commission, within 30 days of the person ceasing to be so employed and the Registrar shall remove the name of that person from the register.”. I certify that this is a correct copy of the Bill which was passed by the National Assembly on 10th November, 2021. Mrs. Tania Isaac Clerk to the National Assembly