UGANDA DEVELOPS AN ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING LAW: Shortly after treating Kazinda with Kid Gloves for similar Crimes. There’s a Shs 2bn fine or 15 years in jail or both for anyone caught laundering money, concealing or disguising the nature, source, location and movement of the proceeds of crime. And passage of the legislation would also obligate every bank to disclose to the central bank any suspicious transaction of more than Shs 50m. Parliament is slated to conclude debate on the Anti-Money Laundering Bill later this week. The proposed law criminalizes money laundering by providing for specific measures to detect and deter the practice, as well as facilitate investigations and prosecute offenders. Under clause 4 of the bill, it will be an offence for someone to engage in money laundering, concealing or disguising the nature, source, location and movement of the proceeds of crime. Clause 131 on penalties says if one commits the offence, he or she is liable to a fine not exceeding Shs 2bn or 15 years in jail, or both. And if the offence is committed by a “legal person” such as a corporation, it would be liable to a fine of Shs 3bn. Besides, anyone who helps in concealing the commission of the offence or fails to report the offence is to be fined Shs 180 million or face five years in prison. If a corporation is involved, the fine is Shs 300m. The bill, which also seeks to control the financing of terrorism through proceeds from money laundering, was introduced in Parliament in 2009. Parliament, The Observer has learnt, is under pressure from the donor community to have the bill passed quickly so as to aid the fight against graft. According to findings by Parliament’s Finance Committee which conducted public hearings on the legislation, it will help deal with the threat posed by organised crime by giving law enforcement authorities the information they need to deprive criminals of their proceeds obtained from criminal activities. “From this, it will be possible for us to detect corrupt officials who have for so long been stealing money and transferring it,” says Aruu MP Odonga Otto, one of the main contributors to the debate.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 15:33:05 +0000
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