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Economic and Organized Crime Bill under consideration

By Jeorge Wilson KINGSON
Parliament has begun considering the Economic and Organized Crime Bill, which has been with the House’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee since October 2009.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice,. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, last week moved the motion for the second reading of the bill in the House, with the explanation that it will help government fight the economic and organized crime which, according to her, is on the ascendancy.

The bill seeks among others to establish a comprehensive legal framework to monitor, investigate and facilitate the prosecution of organized crime and ensure the recovery of proceeds of crime both within and outside the jurisdiction in the interest of the country.
The introduction of an economic and organized crime bill was necessitated by the need to review and strengthen the institutional structures of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to enable it to cooperate effectively with other international institutions in monitoring economic activities and to facilitate the prosecution and prevention of economic and organized crime.

The report of the Constitutional and Legal Committee to the House noted that by the passage of the bill Ghana will be enhancing the viability of its legal regimes through the engagement of the support of law enforcers, non-governmental organizations and business groups both locally and internationally in the fight against organized crime.

“The provisions of the bill are also in furtherance of Article 73 of the constitution of the republic which enjoins the government to conduct its international affairs in consonance with the accepted principles of public international law and diplomacy in a manner consistent with the national interest,” the report stated.

According to the chairman of the committee, Inusah Fuseini, the committee has carefully examined the provisions of the bill in the light of its objective and purpose and is of the view that they are comprehensive enough to address concerns relating to the subject matter.

The spate of economic and organized crimes, including cyber offences and computer-related fraud or advance fee fraud, drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorism, continues to pose threats to lives and property both locally and internationally.

Ghana’s obligation in support of a global action plan towards the combating of these crimes has over the years resulted in the passage of a number of legislations.
The Narcotic Drugs (Control Enforcement and Sanctions) Act, 1990 sought to combat dealings in narcotics and made provision for assistance that may be rendered by Ghana to foreign states in relation to drug related matters.

The Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 1996 (Act 526) was enacted to make provisionm as regards the National Security Council, and to specify the state agencies responsible for implementing government policies on the security of the country.

It also makes provision for matters relating to the integration of domestic and foreign security policies.
The Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2008 (Act 749) establishes a Financial Intelligence Centre which ensures cooperation between some local investigative bodies and their foreign counterparts to combat money laundering activities globally.
The Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008 (Act 762) is another piece of relevant legislation, which sought to provide for universal jurisdiction for the prosecution of offences considered as terrorist offences.
The SFO was established in 1993 by the SFO Act, 1993 (Act 466) to investigate suspected offences provided by law which involve serious financial or economic loss to the state or other institutions in which the state has a financial interest.
However, the mandate of the office did not specifically cover the investigation and facilitation of the prosecution of offences relating to advance fee fraud, drug trafficking, money laundering and other organized crimes.
The complexity in the spate of organized crime has exposed some legislative gaps in the country’s quest to combat and prevent organized crime and its attendant threats to lives and property.

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