Separate entity planned to look after property earned illegally

KATHMANDU, MAR 08 -

The draft of the ‘Proceed  of Crime Bill’ has provisioned a separate entity for looking after the property confiscated from individuals allegedly involved in money laundering and terrorist financing activities.

As the country has no separate law to deal with the property earned through money laundering activities, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has asked Nepal to ready the law by June-end.

It is one of two tasks (another being amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Act) that Nepal has to execute before the June plenary of the global money laundering body to avoid a blacklisting.

Tek Prasad Dhungana, joint secretary at the Law Ministry, said a separate body for looking after such property was envisioned as Nepal does not have a central body to carry out the job. “It will give uniformity to the process of seizing, freezing and confiscating goods earned through illegal means in the country,” he said.

The Law Ministry has sent the draft to the High Level Coordination Committee on Money Laundering headed by the finance secretary.

The government also plans to hold discussions with stakeholders such as lawyers, traders and experts on the draft to make it more practical and easy to implement.

According to Dhungana, the proposed entity will be responsible for not only managing seized property suspected of being acquired through money laundering activities, but also the property that is earned as a result of predicate offenses of money laundering such as corruption, organised crime, human trafficking and trafficking of endangered species.

“The office will have the authority to seize, freeze and confiscate illegally-earned property in the Kathmandu valley,” said Dhungana, who was involved in drafting the bill. “Outside the valley, District Administration Offices will have the authority to do so.”

The proposed agency will be authorised to preserve and manage the illegally earned property on the basis of their nature and durability.

“If the seized goods are perishable, the agency will have the authority to sell them instantly by taking the court’s order and collect the amount in the national coffer,’ said Dhungana.

In case the suspected perpetrator owns land and houses, the office will freeze the property through government agencies concerned until the case is finalised in the court.

And if the seized goods include precious metals like gold, the office will protect them until the case is finalised.

“After that, such goods will be auctioned to collect the monetary penalty imposed by the court,” said Dhungana.

If the seized items include arms and drugs, the proposed office will have the authority to destroy them.

“If the goods cannot be auctioned and are usable for government agencies, they can use them as well,” said Dhungana.

Source: The Kathmandu Post