Financial Crime World

Title: Mauritius Establishes Financial Crimes Commission to Bolster AML Efforts and FATF Compliance

Mauritius’s ongoing battle against financial crime has led to a significant legislative step. The country passed the Financial Crimes Commission Act to establish a primary agency for detecting, investigating, and prosecuting financial crimes, creating the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC).

  • December 2023: Following Presidential assent on the 21st, the Act comes into effect after a Parliament proclamation.
  • FATF Recommendations: Mauritius was advised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2021 to focus on money laundering cases and prompt resolutions. This new legislation aims to address these recommendations before the next FATF assessment in 2027.

Once effective, several existing laws, including:

  • Prevention of Corruption Act
  • Asset Recovery Act
  • Good Governance & Integrity Reporting Act
  • Part II of the Financial Intelligence & Anti-Money Laundering Act

will be repealed and replaced by a unified legal framework.

Commission Structure

The FCC will assume the powers and functions of:

  • Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)
  • Asset Recovery Investigation Division (ARID)
  • Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)
  • Integrity Reporting Services Agency (IRSA)

FIU continues its role in gathering and disseminating financial intelligence and receiving suspicious transaction reports. The FCC comprises several divisions:

  1. Investigation Division: Investigating offenses under the Act.
  2. Asset Recovery and Management Division: Implementing investigations for asset recovery and managing assets derived from criminal activities.
  3. Education and Preventive Division: Investigating Declaration of Assets Act offenses and probing unexplained wealth, preventing and educating the public about financial crimes.
  4. Legal Division: Prosecuting offenses under the Act and Declaration of Assets Act.

FCC Powers and Functions

The extensive powers of the FCC include:

  1. Requesting financial institutions for customer information.
  2. Using intrusive surveillance and equipment interception techniques.
  3. Managing civil and criminal aspects of asset seizure, freezing, confiscation, and handling unexplained wealth.
  4. Instigating criminal proceedings following investigations and reporting.

Offenses Covered

New provisions address offenses such as:

  • Bribery
  • Corruption in sports events
  • Fraud
  • Financing of drug dealing
  • False representation
  • Failing to disclose information
  • Making or supplying articles for use in fraud
  • Abuse of position
  • Electronic fraud

Operations Review Committee

Under the Act, the Operations Review Committee is reinstated to increase accountability and oversight over the FCC’s case investigation and management, meeting international standards.