Financial Crime World

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Financial Corruption in Seychelles: New Law Strengthens Anti-Corruption Efforts

A landmark law amendment has been approved by the Seychelles National Assembly, enabling the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACCS) to more effectively prosecute corruption and money laundering cases.

Background

The Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2022 was approved on May 19, 2022. The amendment enables the ACCS to investigate and prosecute conspiracy and attempt under the Penal Code, allowing it to take on complex cases that involve corruption and money laundering.

Key Provisions

  • Allows for the prosecution of money laundering offenses that occurred prior to the current Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, 2020.
  • Clarifies the offenses created under Section 40 of the Anti-Corruption Act, making it easier to prosecute cases involving conspiracy and attempt.
  • Closes a loophole in the 2020 AML Act that prevented the prosecution of money laundering where the property originated from a criminal offense that took place before the act came into force.

Impact

The amended law is significant because it enables the ACCS to investigate and prosecute all corruption offenses, regardless of when they occurred. It also allows for linked offenses such as money laundering and conspiracies/attempts to commit offenses to be prosecuted together.

Quotes

  • “We welcome the support of ICAR and we have seen the immediate benefit to this partnership with ACCS,” said May de Silva, Commissioner of ACCS.
  • “Too often we see that political rhetoric on corruption is not met with adequate support to the agencies charged with fighting corruption. So it is particularly pleasing to see that when the ACCS went to Government to seek amendments to the law to enable it to more effectively carry out its mandate, the government responded affirmatively and expeditiously introduced the Bill to the National Assembly,” said Joe Spicer, Senior Asset Recovery Specialist at ICAR.

Partnership

The ACCS and ICAR signed a case consultancy agreement in March 2022 covering capacity building and technical assistance for complex case work and legislative reform. The partnership aims to strengthen the ACCS’s capabilities in combating corruption and recovering stolen funds for the benefit of the people of Seychelles.