A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed this morning in Port Louis by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA), the Enforcement Authority (pursuant to section 4(1) of the Asset Recovery Act 2011) at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
The aim of the MoU is to ensure smooth implementation of the provisions of the Asset Recovery Act and to enable faster exchanges of information and more effective cooperation between the enforcement authorities as regards assets recovery which are proceeds or instrumentalities of crimes.
Addressing the ceremony, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Satyajit Boolell, highlighted the role of the Asset Recovery which is a new instrument to fight criminals whose motive is to obtain money and hide the money by means of assets through different schemes to get the money out of the reach of the enforcement agencies. Mr Boolell further said that some 90 cases have already been referred to the Enforcement Authority since its coming into operation in 2012 and such cases, he added, involved millions of rupees which have been deprived from the authorities at the expense of the law abiding citizens. On this score, he warned that fraudulent activities at the cost of the society are unacceptable.
For his part, the Director General of the MRA, Mr Sudhamo Lal, lauded the initiative of the enforcement authorities into entering the MoU which according to him, will set the path for greater collaboration and exchange of information essential in helping the Enforcement Unit at the DPP to successfully bring proceedings before the Supreme Court to recover assets. Mr Lal, further pointed out that very soon the MRA will also sign a MoU with the Police Department for collaboration in the suppression of customs offences, illicit drug trafficking, money laundering and other transnational crimes as well as to enhance the effectiveness of the Police and the MRA in areas of protection of society and the national security of the State.
As for the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Mr Dev Bikoo, he reiterated the role of the FIU from the prevention to the detection of financial crimes which is being done in a fairly manner and added that the FIU is also one of the leading unit in the African region where there is a comprehensive framework to combating financial crimes. According to Mr Bikoo, there should be a system to manage and monitor the MoU and see that it is working efficiently. So far the FIU has signed 21 MoUs with various countries, he added.
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