EDITORIAL: It’s time third parties of corruption felt the heat

Well-known lords of graft have been resting on their laurels and flaunting their ill-gotten wealth to family, neighbourhoods and peers.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018 19:37

In the recent past, corruption has continued to be such a huge drawback on Kenya and Africa’s advancement to the extent that it now looks insurmountable.

Well, it can be argued that perpetrators of the vice want it to remain that way. Reports that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has prosecuted over 7,000 suspects have been diluted by the fact that convictions are rare and far between.

Besides, the courts have only found it befitting to jail little-known perpetrators such as traffic policemen and an occasionally mid-level functionaries.

Well-known lords of graft have been resting on their laurels and flaunting their ill-gotten wealth to family, neighbourhoods and peers.

Often, the public is aware of the source of wealth — a fact that triggers copycat acts and negative aspirations.

Part of the reason corrupt people are known to all and sundry but supposedly not to the integrity watchdogs is the way they cover their tracks.

While there is a huge human factor in ignoring the graft trail, legally at times it is relatively hard to crack some cases.

A large part of the problem are lawyers, who use all manner of tricks in the book to prevent the lords of graft from going to jail.

There are also real-estate brokers who handle the bulk of the transactions, at most times well aware of the source of the cash.

It is in this light that we welcome recommendations contained in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2018. It proposes to change the Bribery Act to provide for a Sh5 million or 10-year jail term fine for those transacting in properties where corruption is apparent.

This will hit brokers, surveyors and lawyers hardest and probably sanitise the property industry.

For a long time, it has been suspected to be a conduit of money laundering—both from inside and outside the country.

In fact, the distortionary effect especially during the height of sea piracy was so obvious despite official silence.

While laws have never fully thwarted corruption, hopefully this one will make some dent. Parliament should fully support the change in law coming from Leader of Majority Aden Duale.

S.Africa authorities raid Gupta property over graft

The Independent

April 17, 2018

The Gupta residence in Saxonwold.

Johannesburg, South Africa | South African officials on Monday raided a Johannesburg property belonging to the Guptas, a wealthy business family at the heart of graft allegations against former president Jacob Zuma.

The Hawks police investigative unit and the tax service descended on the Guptas’ heavily protected compound in the upmarket suburb of Saxonwold.

Prosecution authorities said the officials were enforcing a court order in a fraud and money laundering case involving the Guptas, who are accused of receiving favourable government deals during Zuma’s presidency.

The officials put the property and other assets “under restraint pending finalisation of the criminal case,” National Prosecution Authority spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told AFP.

Thirteen people are facing charges linked to allegations that 250-million-rand ($20 million) of public money meant for poor dairy farmers was siphoned off by the Guptas.

A private jet used by the family was on Friday flown back to South Africa where it was grounded by the court order, which also covers offices, farms and luxury cars.

The Gupta brothers — Atul, Ajay and Rajesh — moved to South Africa in 1993 from India, a year before the country’s first democratic elections.

Their whereabouts is not publicly known, but they have previously denied any wrongdoing.

Zuma was forced to resign as president two months ago as criticism grew from within the ruling ANC party over corruption allegations against him.

TOURISM minister Pohamba Shifeta this week tabled a draft law that proposes to regulate the gambling industry, which currently has about 20 000 illegal slot machines across the country.

Shifeta tabled the gaming and entertainment control bill in the National Assembly on Wednesday, which would effectively turn the directorate of tourism and gaming into a new state-owned enterprise to be called the Gambling Board. The Gambling Board will have eight board members and a chief executive.

The bill would also create a central monitoring system to track electronic slot machines across the country.

Shifeta said other reasons for the proposed law were to protect gamblers, and ensure that the sector paid more to the state.

“This piece of legislation will not only ensure strict regulation of gambling activities, but has new provisions to protect the public who participate in these activities, and the national economy,” he stated.

Namibia has 260 licensed slot machine operators, of which six are casinos, while 254 are gambling houses, Shifeta said.

There was a total of 2 845 registered slot machines (1 145 in casinos and 1 700 in gambling houses), which contribute N$22 million to government coffers annually, he added.

According to the minister, government estimates that there are roughly 20 000 unlicensed gambling machines in about 2 600 illegal gambling houses countrywide.

Shifeta said politicians would not qualify to serve on the Gambling Board that will issue different licences for casinos, gambling houses, bookmakers, totalisators, manufacturers or suppliers, testing agents, and key employee licences.

Government was also trying to ensure that the issuing of gambling licences was fair and transparent.

The proposed central electronic monitoring system would “detect and monitor significant events associated with gambling machines or any device associated with gambling machines that are made available for play in Namibia”.

The bill would also establish a database of every gambling machine manufactured in or imported into Namibia.

He said all gambling machines would have to be linked to the monitoring system within 12 months of the Gaming and Entertainment Control Act becoming law.

“Hefty fines or imprisonment are proposed for those who fail to do so,” Shifeta said.

The minister added that the Gambling Board would only issue gambling licences to operators of accommodation establishments or those possessing retail liquor businesses.

“The transfer of gambling house licences from one area to another will no longer be possible,” he said, adding that “the practice of individuals who buy gambling machines from others and place them in various shebeens that do not belong to them will no longer be possible”.

The proposed law will furthermore allow the minister to set the total number of gambling licences per region, in consultation with the Namibian Competition Commission, to stimulate a competitive gambling industry.

“This will be done, considering the impact of incidents and other consequences of compulsive and addictive gambling,” the minister said.

Other factors to be considered were the economic empowerment of previously disadvantaged Namibians, and promoting new businesses in the gambling industry.

According to the document tabled by Shifeta, prizes won through gambling would not be taxed. Since the gambling sector is known for enabling money laundering, the bill contains anti-money laundering provisions.

“The board must consider whether the applicant has or put measures in place to combat money laundering, as required by the Financial Intelligence Act,” the bill states.

It states that a gambling licence holder who commits an offence could be fined N$10 000 or two years in prison, or both.

A similar fine would also be levied on a person who failed to pay a winner without good reason. A person would be fined N$20 000 or four years in prison for masquerading as a gambling inspector.

– shinovene @namibian.com.na

Following Guptas' Temple Money-Laundering Trail

A temple under construction in their home town of Saharanpur was allegedly used in Gupta money-laundering schemes.

 

Jean le Roux News 24

A R200-million temple, built in honour of the Gupta brothers' late father, Shiv, was erected in their home town of Saharanpur using money laundered through several of the Gupta brothers' Indian and Dubai companies.

In March this year, Indian revenue authorities raided several of the Gupta brothers' properties on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.

The temple was among these properties.

Despite the Guptas themselves footing the bill for the construction of the temple, a local Indian politician, Mansoor Badar, and Sanjay Grover, a known Gupta lieutenant in Dubai, were used as the "donors" of the money earmarked for the temple's construction.

In this multi-part investigation, we consider how the Gupta family laundered money using companies set up in Dubai and India, freeing them up to fund the temple's construction.

First stop: Saharanpur

Construction started on the Shiva Dham temple, located in the northern outskirts of the Gupta brothers' hometown of Saharanpur, in June 2014. The temple complex consists of several buildings, including the main temple itself, and a hall designed by architectural firm Trivedi Corporation in India.

The temple was still under construction in January this year.

And while documents in the Gupta leaks claim that Badar and Grover are the sole funders of the temple's construction, at least a portion of the donations was bankrolled by the Guptas themselves, making fools of Indian revenue authorities in the process.

To get the money into India, the Guptas needed a plan. The Gupta leaks show that Tony Gupta expressed an interest in establishing the family's own religious trust early in 2014. The Guptas also discussed ways of transferring money out of the country with their auditors at the time, KPMG.

"We also note there is a desire to investigate the feasibility of transferring funds offshore, especially to India, to be utilised as religious donations (as part of funding to build the temple in the vicinity of your home town in India) as well as for business purposes," wrote Muhammad Saloojee, director and head of corporate tax at KPMG, on June 30, 2014.

Between June 2014 and December 2014, the family appeared to have abandoned establishing their own trust and focused on using an existing religious trust instead. The Gupta leaks show that the temple's construction was overseen and paid for by an entity called Sh Siv Mandir Gor Sankar Vishwana Banunth Dham and Samsa Bumi Prabndak Saba (the Siv Mandir trust), a religious trust founded in 1990. The Siv Mandir trust was responsible for paying service providers and labourers for the construction of the temple.

The reasoning behind using a trust was economic: in terms of Indian tax laws, a religious trust can apply for favourable treatment of its own income as well as any donations made by its funders.

On December 10, 2014, Atul and Tony Gupta drafted a letter on behalf of their mother, the Gupta matriarch Angoori Gupta. The letter begged the Indian revenue authorities to grant the Siv Mandir trust exemptions from certain tax regimes.

Atul Gupta and his mother Angoori at the laying of the temple foundation stone. (www.shivadham.in)

"This temple is being constructed at the total project cost of [about R180-million]; the donation for which will be contributed by all individual persons in Saharanpur – and [a] major portion of this donation will come from Smt Angoori Devi Gupta and her family members and friends from all over the world.

"Trust has also applied for Income Tax Exemptions u/s 12 A of [Income] Tax Act and will also apply for exemption u/s 80 G of Income Tax Act. Once these exemptions are granted by the appropriate authority's [sic] donation [sic] from all across the world will start flowing in."

The letter was addressed to the tourism minister in Uttar Pradesh, the province of the Guptas' hometown of Saharanpur, appealing to the minister to intervene with the tax authorities.

The letter makes it clear that the Guptas intended funding the construction of the temple using donations from their "friends and family".

With a tax-efficient and opaque trust set up to receive its donations, the Guptas could begin funding it.

Funnelling the funds

The Gupta leaks show that the temple had two intended sources of income. The first funder was Badar, a municipal councillor in Saharanpur. Badar was earmarked to provide 23-million rupees [~R4.3-million] towards the construction of the temple.

As part of the donation, Badar was required to submit a letter containing very specific wording to the revenue authorities. The accountant for the family's businesses in India, Ashok Khandelwal, drafted an example of the letter to be used.

Khandelwal initially denied any role in the funding of the temple construction.

"Without going into the merits of your allegations, we have absolutely nothing to do with the so-called temple construction with which you are trying to associate our name," he wrote in an email.

"We would have no problems if you were publishing the truth, but publishing false stories without any facts should not be done. If you have any evidence, of our involvement in this, kindly share the details of the same with us before publishing the story in order for us to respond, because your inference of the information, if any, that you have seems to be absolutely wrong."

Khandelwal failed to respond when confronted with a copy of the donation letter he drafted. He also failed to clarify why he drafted the letter under instructions from Gupta family associates if the donor was Badar, an apparently unrelated party. Instead, Khandelwal threatened legal action on the basis of defamation and blackmail in response to the questions posed.

Badar's motivation appears to have been political. In December 2014, Gupta lieutenant Ashu Chawla received two letters introducing Badar to the leader of a local political organisation. The letters, which had to be translated, introduce Badar to the leader of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, and propose Badar as an ideal candidate for the elections to be held the following year.

Both Yadav and Badar also attended the Gupta family's infamous Waterkloof wedding in 2013. Attempts to reach either Yadav or Badar for comment have been met with no response.

But Badar was not about to use his own money to fund the temple, and this is where the laundromat kicked in. The Gupta leaks indicate how it worked.

The laundering cycle used to fund Mansoor Badar's donations to the temple trust. (Graphic: Jean le Roux and Jaco Grobbelaar)

Using several back-to-back payments, the true source of the funding would be hidden behind several layers of transactions. All of these companies are either under the direct control of Gupta family members, or their close associates.

The next day the cycle is repeated. ITJ Retails pays LCR Investments, who in turn pays Anil Gupta. Anil Gupta arranges for the funds to be transferred by unknown means to Badar, who in turn pays ITJ Retails.

This cycle was repeated for several days until about 21-million rupees [~R3.9-million] was paid to ITJ Retails by Badar.

But the trick lies herein: Badar never paid ITJ Retails. By skipping the last link in the chain, Badar would in effect "borrow" the money from ITJ Retails by not paying it over. This was confirmed by the balance sheet for ITJ Retails, which showed that as at March 4, 2014, Badar was owed exactly 23-million rupees [~R4.3-million] – the same amount contained in the planned budget for the temple.

The modus operandi becomes even clearer in another string of transactions or journal entries ordered a year later.

On March 6, 2015, another Gupta lieutenant Suresh Tuteja again requested that several payments be reflected, either as transactions or journal entries in the books of the affected entities. Among these payments was 17.6-million rupees [~R3.3-million] that Akash Khandelwal, the accountant-on-call for the Guptas, was to receive from "Sanjay ji". This presumably referred to Sanjay Grover, the former Gupta associate in Dubai.

This amount would then be transferred to ITJ Retails, who would in turn "repay" Badar the 23-million rupees he lent ITJ Retails. Badar would then make a 23-million-rupee payment to the "temple".

Akash Khandelwal denied that he received or made any such payments, but would not explain why these payment instructions would be made using his name as the recipient of the money to be paid to ITJ Retails.

The entries also showed that the "temple" would in turn be used to settle a vehicle loan for the benefit of SES Technologies, another Gupta-linked company that will feature prominently in the next instalment.

We can now trace a trail from the temple trust to Badar and eventually LCR Investments and SES Technologies.

Going global

The source of the money received from LCR Investments and SES is a bit murkier. But the Gupta leaks show how these companies were used to launder money paid from several overseas sources.

The first of these sources were donations paid by the Gupta family from South Africa. In late 2013, Rajesh Gupta, his wife Aarti, and Atul's wife, Shivani, each gifted R1-million to their sister in India, Achlia.

Achlia Gupta is the sister of brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, and is married to the same Anil Gupta mentioned above who provided Badar with the money to pay ITJ Retails. The donations made in late 2014 appear to have been made directly into Achlia's account.

The donations made to Achlia would invariably find their way back into the LCR Investments' and SES Technologies' laundry cycle. Bank records for SES show that Achlia frequently made large deposits into its account, which were subsequently funnelled away. Achlia and other members of the Gupta family, frequently made large unsecured loans to Gupta-linked companies, among them LCR Investments.

Payments made to LCR Investments by Gupta-owned companies in Dubai were a second source of foreign income. In 2014, Indian tax authorities queried the source of funds used to provide several unsecured loans provided by the family and its companies to LCR Investments during the previous financial year.

Anil, Achlia and Doon Leisure and Hospitality (an Indian company owned by the Guptas, previously known as Sahara Computers and Electronics) were queried in this matter.

In response, Achlia referred to a donation made to her by Shivani "out of her natural love and affection for me and the same has been accepted by me".

Yet this heart-warming gesture of charity was not paid directly to Achlia. Instead, the money was paid from her sister's Bank of Baroda account into that of the Dubai-based Global Corporation LLC. Global Corporation would in turn pay this into the bank account of LCR Investments, again funding the cycle.

Global Corporation was one several Gupta-linked shelf companies that a News24 investigation last year was unable to track down, despite journalists spending a week in Dubai.

A third source of funds was direct payments from the Guptas' Dubai-based companies. An elaborate example of the way the money is laundered is found in the Gupta leaks, and involves several companies that the Guptas have direct control over.

This laundering process will be delved into in the next instalment, as well as its links to the family's Dubai operations.

Since submitting our enquiries to the affected parties, the temple's website has been taken down. Archived versions of the website can be found here and here.

- News24

South Africa: NPA Indictment Reveals Details of Shaik's Alleged Bribes to Zuma

Former president Jacob Zuma's adviser fraudster Schabir Shaik and French arms manufacturer Thales formed a common purpose to bribe the former president through a series of payments.

This was revealed in the 89-page indictment released by the National Prosecuting Authority this week.

The State said Zuma had benefited in the period of October 25, 1995, to July 2005 through 783 payments totalling R4 072 499.85.

"This was by way of payments from Shaik and/or relevant corporate entities within the Nkobi group (controlled by Shaik) and/or the other relevant corporate entities to accused one (Zuma) and various parties for the benefit of accused one," read the indictment.

Zuma appeared in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban on Friday, April 6, along with his co-accused, Thales, which was represented by Christine Guerrier.

Guerrier had travelled from Paris to attend the case.

No business sense

Zuma as accused number one faces charges of fraud, money laundering, corruption and racketeering. The former president had the support of senior ANC KwaZulu-Natal and former Cabinet ministers when he appeared last Friday. The case was postponed to June 8.

The indictment says the common purpose between Zuma, Shaik and Nkobi group was formed on or before October 25, 1995.

However, the State says the scheduled payments to Zuma do not make any legitimate business sense.

It alleges that neither Shaik nor the Nkobi group could afford the payments, as they were at all times in a "cash-starved position" and at times relied on bank overdrafts and borrowing money from banks at prevailing interest rates - to make the payments interest free.

The State also said the group's survival depended on obtaining profitable new business. It also said whether the loans were affordable or not, it was not the Nkobi group's legitimate business to make payments to Zuma or other politicians.

"Even if the payments could properly be regarded as loans, they amounted to 'benefits'," it said.

No effort to recover payments

The State said some of the payments, described and treated in certain Nkobi groups as loans, was inconsistent.

"The final accounting treatment of R1 137 722.48 of the total payments of R4 072 499.85 does not reflect the payments as loans," it said.

The State added that the schedule payments were intended by Shaik, the Nkobi group and Thales as bribes.

"The funds were paid without security. This is not a usual commercial practice with banks, more especially in respect of a customer with accused one's risk profile.

"Despite Nkobi's precarious position with the banks, Shaik and Nkobi made no effort to recover any of the payments from accused one.

"This failure to demand repayments is itself a benefit to accused one."

'Service provider agreement'

The State also alleges that during 1998, Zuma intervened and assisted Shaik, the Nkobi group and Thales to resolve a dispute that had arisen regarding Nkobi's participation with Shaik in the acquisition of African Defence System (ADS).

The former president's assistance relating to the arms deal was informal and it did not form part of the official bidding/selection process, said the State.

The indictment further alleges that in 1999 and 2000, Thales and Shaik conspired with Zuma to pay him an amount of R500 000 per annum as a bribe in exchange for his protection in investigations into the arms deal.

"These annual payments were to continue until the first payment of dividends by ADS."

The State further alleges that it was agreed between the parties that the "bribes" would not be paid directly to Zuma, "but that some method of payment would be employed that was calculated to disguise the true nature of the payments so as to avoid detection".

The indictment says during late 2000 to early 2001, Kobifin (Pty) Ltd entered into a so-called "service provider agreement" with Thales in Mauritius as a device to "conceal or disguise the true nature and source of the payments of the bribe".

Source: News24

Read this report on News24Wire.com.

South Africa ex-Prez Jacob Zuma charged with corruption

Date: Apr 07 , 2018 , 10:38 Author: The BBC

After the 75-year-old's 15-minute appearance at the High Court in Durban, the case was adjourned until 8 June.

He faces 16 counts of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering, which dogged his presidency and were reinstated in 2016.

Mr Zuma, who was forced out of office in February, denies any wrongdoing.

His supporters descended on the city to rally for him, while his critics think court action is long overdue.

After the hearing, Mr Zuma addressed the crowds who had come to stand alongside him at the court in his home province.

"I have never seen it before where someone is charged with a crime, those charges are dropped and then years later those same charges are re-instated," he said, speaking in Zulu. "This is a just a political conspiracy,"

He then led the crowd in song and dance.

What was the arms deal?
The arms deal took place in 1999, the year Mr Zuma moved from being a provincial minister to deputy president.

He is accused of accepting 783 illegal payments.

His financial adviser, Schabir Shaikh, was found guilty of trying to solicit bribes on his behalf from a French arms firm and was jailed in 2005.

The case against Mr Zuma was dropped shortly before he ran for president in 2009.

A woman representing French arms manufacturer Thales was also in the Durban courthouse on Friday, as the company faces corruption charges too.

Fighting on
By Pumza Fihlani, BBC News, Durban

The Zuma of old is still here - the crowd pleaser, the charmer and tactical politician.

This is the Jacob Zuma who boldly addressed crowds outside the courthouse, minutes after his brief hearing.

A sure, perhaps even defiant, Zuma told crowds he was being targeted by political foes both within his party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC), and opposition parties who were against his attempts to bring economic empowerment to black people.

Here in his home province he remains a hero who brought development to forgotten corners of this vast and largely rural province.

On the face of it, he appears to be unperturbed by the latest controversy, having survived many a scandal. "I keep asking what has Zuma done and no one has an answer for me," he told the crowds. And with that in mind, Mr Zuma fights on.

Why is this significant?
The BBC's Andrew Harding says the former president appearing in court on corruption charges is hugely symbolic for South Africa's young democracy.

Many, he reports, see it as an era of impunity coming to an end.

The ANC, led by new president Cyril Ramaphosa, is keen to distance itself from the controversy as it prepares to contest the national elections in a year's time.

Mr Ramaphosa came in on a ticket of clean governance and his party cannot afford another scandal.

The ANC asked Mr Zuma's supporters not to wear its colours outside court on Friday but many did not follow this advice and were seen dressed in black, green and yellow.

Why now?
Mr Zuma's opponents had long fought for him to be charged over the 1990s bribes.

The charges were reinstated in 2016 as his grip on the ANC weakened.

He was facing his ninth vote of no-confidence in parliament before he left office, forced out by the ANC.

Zuma's many scandals
His rule was beset with a series of scandals, including claims of state looting.

In 2016, a court ruled that he had breached his oath of office by using government money to upgrade a private home in the rural area of Nkandla. He later repaid the money.

Last year he was also accused of profiteering from a relationship with the wealthy Gupta family - allegations that both parties have denied.

In February, Mr Zuma resigned following intense pressure from the ANC party. He had been told to step down or face another vote of no-confidence in parliament.

Mr Zuma's remaining supporters argue that he is being targeted for backing a radical economic reform agenda.

A battle is also brewing over whether the state should keep paying his legal bills.

Credit: The BBC

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has today charged two suspects at the Makadara Chief Magistrates Court for tax evasion amounting to Ksh 7,069,975,452. The two, Mr Kevalkumar Navin Maisura and Ms. Arti Jagdiesh Bakrania (alias Ms. Arti Kevalkumar Maisura), were arrested after it was found out that they have registered more than nine business names and are believed to have made fictitious invoicing in excess of Ksh15,369,511,856. They are suspected to have defrauded or aided in defrauding the government approximately Ksh 2,459,121,896 in Value Added Tax and a further Ksh 4,610,853,556.80 in income taxes. Officers from KRA’s Investigations and Enforcement Department conducted a search on the residential premises of the two suspects on 4th April, 2018, and confiscated crucial documents and electronic devices including ten ETR machines. The suspects have been under surveillance for sometime. 

If found guilty by the court, the suspects will serve a jail term of up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of double the taxes evaded.

The scheme

This case is part of an elaborate tax fraud scheme that KRA has been investigating for over one year. It involves some traders who have been claiming fraudulent purchases thereby evading payments of billions of shillings in taxes. A group of individuals who register several business names for fictitious invoicing perpetuates the scheme similar to the “missing trader” scheme in India and Europe.

In the scheme, fictitious invoices are generated to depict a business transaction whereas there is no actual supply or movement of goods and services. The invoices are generated and sold at a fee by the missing traders to existing companies purposely for use in inflating the cost of sales thereby reducing tax payable.

The major companies that have benefited from the missing traders syndicate are in various sectors including: construction, importers of hardware and household goods, scrap metal dealers and importers of electronic items including mobile phones.

Some of the companies import goods but under-declare the imports in order to pay less import duty and VAT. In order to claim Input VAT the companies’ then resort to buying invoices to inflate purchases, making purchases almost equal to sales thereby resulting into minimal VAT being paid.

Initial findings reveal that the government lost in excess of Ksh7 billion in terms of VAT alone over the last three years.

Next course of action

KRA is investigating approximately 66 missing traders and over 2,000 beneficiaries of the scheme. Investigations have been extended to those taxpayers who benefitted from the scheme, and taxes lost recovered through the relevant provisions of the tax laws. Prosecution of culpable individuals will also continue.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5544695/Catholic-priest-caught-19-000-cash-stashed-false-wall.html

Catholic bishop is caught with £19,000 stashed in a false wall 'after group of priests stole £425,000 from donations and wedding fees over three years' in Brazil

• Bishop in Brazil 'led group of priests embezzling £426,000 of church money'
• One priest was fopund with  £19,200 hidden behind a false wall in his home
•  Bishop of Formosa, five clergymen and three lay people arrested in Goias
• They are accused of stealing from church donations, and ceremony fees

By Sara Malm For Mailonline

PUBLISHED: 12:24 BST, 26 March 2018 | UPDATED: 13:23 BST, 26 March 2018

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5544695/Catholic-priest-caught-19-000-cash-stashed-false-wall.html#ixzz5ArFWSXjw 
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Zimbabwe - Money Laundering Bill gazetted

Zvamaida Murwira -  Senior Reporter

10 March 2018

Harare, Zimbabwe - Government has gazetted the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill which seeks to strengthen the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) by giving it autonomous powers to effectively combat the crime.

The Bill is also meant to ensure Zimbabwe complies with 40 recommendations by the Eastern and Southern African Anti Money Laundering Group where Harare was found wanting.

Promulgation of the proposed law is consistent with Government under President Mnangagwa’s thrust to ensure zero tolerance on corruption, as it seeks to quickly turn around fortunes of the economy.

Clause Four of the Bill set up the Financial Intelligence Unit formerly under the Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of Money Laundering Unit under Bank Use Promotion Act will continue in operation, but elevate its head to director-general from a director.

“The Unit shall be deemed to be in the administrative establishment of the RBZ having the following special features, namely that, (a) it shall be headed by a Director General appointed by the Governor of the RBZ in consultation with the Minister (of Finance) (b) it shall consist of such other members of staff as may be necessary for the performance of its functions, who shall be appointed by the Director General,” read the Bill.

“The budget of the unit (i) shall be approved by the Board of the Reserve Bank (ii) be managed by the Director General independently of the Reserve Bank, but be subject to internal audit by the Reserve Bank and be audited by the auditors of the Reserve Bank.”

The Bill also spells out the conditions under which the DG shall leave office, his qualification among other pertinent issues.

“Except as provided for in section 6B (2), the Unit shall have operational independence from the Reserve Bank and shall not in the performance of its functions under the Act, be subject to the direction and control of the Minister or any other person or Authority,” read section 6A (f) of the Bill.

The functions of the Unit are also spelt out in the Bill.

“Subject to this Act, the function of the Unit shall be (a) to receive suspicious transactions reports, cash transaction reports and other financial data from financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses or professions or from any other sources,” read the Bill.

Other functions include monitoring and ensuring compliance with the Act by competent supervisory authorities, financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses or professions.

“The Minister, after consultation with the Advisory Committee may in writing give the Director General, directions with regard to policy to be adopted by the Unit in the performance of its functions,” reads the Bill.

The proposed law empowers the Unit to have access to information from any financial institution, designated non-financial business or profession or law enforcement agency.

The Bill will amend section 27 of the National Prosecuting Authority (Chapter 7:20) section six of the Criminal Matters (Mutual Assistance Act) (Chapter 9:06) section 87 of the deeds Registries Act (Chapter 20:05) section 210 of the Customs and Exercise Act (Chapter 23:05).

The 7^th ARINSA AGM : Relentless efforts continue to make sure criminals have nowhere to hide

The Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Southern Africa (ARINSA) held its Annual General Meeting in Gaborone, Botswana on 7 – 8 March 2018.

It was reported at the meeting that ARINSA member countries had seized USD 76m worth of assets in 2017.

This was a significant increase from the previous year which was reported at USD 23m. This surge has been largely attributed to the mentorship programme and the extensive training programmes that UNODC has been conducting in 2017, including Terrorism Financing, Cyber-Crime, Beneficial Ownership and Taking the Proceeds from Wildlife Crime.

More details are available in the ARINSA Annual Report 2017 on the link below: ARINSA Annual Report or by visiting the ARINSA website https://www.arinsa.org

The ARINSA network continues to grow and the AGM welcomed as new members, Angola and Uganda. This increases the number of countries that are members of the informal network to 15.

The meeting was attended by over 80 delegates (31 female) from all around the world and by members of the ARINSA network including Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The meeting began with a key note address by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security for the Republic of Botswana, Mme Segakweng Tsiane, who highlighted that forfeiture or receipt of proceeds of crime is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a process of preserving and disposing of such assets in an efficient and effective manner. She called for high levels of integrity and value-based execution of jurisdictional mandate in doing so.

The Director of Public Prosecutions for the Republic of Botswana added on “… For this reason you have joined together as a network to fight a common enemy. I particularly note that not only do you share as a network the exchange of information, but thirdly that to a large measure you a share common jurisprudence assisting each other in the pursuit of a common objective to not only “leave the criminals with nowhere to hide” but fourthly to develop best practices and make the region safe and secure for all our peoples.”

Several international organisations including the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) from Basle, Switzerland and Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network (CARIN) shared experiences and best practises on asset recovery. The United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) were also present.

Some recommendations arising from the meeting included:

•        more training programs for the judiciary, investigators and prosecutors.

•        UNODC to continue assisting with legislative amendments and policy developments

•        Countries should make us of existing agreements regional SADC protocols to follow the proceeds of crime in other jurisdictions.  

•        More awareness raising campaigns on asset forfeiture to be conducted by member countries to raise the profile of ARINSA   

•        Member countries should continue to access E-learning modules as a cost-effective measure to reduce training costs.