Key Benefits:
40. Evidence of pecuniary resources or property
(1) In any proceedings against a person for an offence under Part IV, the fact that the accused was, at or about the date of or at any time since the date of the alleged offence, is in possession, for which he or she cannot satisfactorily account, of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his or her present or past known sources of income or assets, or that he or she had, at or about the date of or at any time since the date of the alleged offence, obtained an accretion to his or her pecuniary resources or property for which he or she cannot satisfactorily account, may be proved and may be taken by the court-
(a) as corroborating the testimony of any witness giving evidence in such proceedings that the accused accepted or agreed or offered to accept any valuable consideration; and
(b) as showing that the consideration was accepted or agreed or offered to be accepted as a valuable consideration as an inducement or reward.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) an accused person shall be presumed to be or to have been in possession of pecuniary resources or property, or to have obtained an accretion thereto, where such resources or property are or were held, or such accretion was obtained, by any other person whom, having regard to his or her relationship to the accused or to any other circumstances, there is reason to believe is or was holding such resources or property or obtained such accretion in trust for or otherwise on behalf of the accused or as a gift from the accused.
Notwithstanding any rule of law or practice to the contrary, no witness shall, in any proceedings for an offence under Part IV, be regarded as an accomplice by reason only of any payment or delivery by him or her or on his or her behalf of any valuable consideration to the person accused or, as the case may be, by reason only of any payment or delivery of any valuable consideration by or on behalf of the person accused to him or her.
Where in any proceedings for an offence under Part IV, it is proved that the accused offered or accepted a valuable consideration, the valuable consideration shall be presumed to have been offered and accepted as such inducement or reward, as is alleged in the particulars of offence unless the contrary is proved.
42A. Endorsement of conviction in register
(1) A court convicting a person under section 28 or 29 may, in addition to imposing a sentence provided for in section 36, issue an order that-
(a) the particulars of the person;
(b) the conviction and sentence; and
(c) any other order of the court consequent thereupon, be endorsed in the register kept under section 124 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
(2) If the person referred to in subsection (1) is a body corporate or unincorporated body, the court may in addition to the conviction, issue an order that-
(a) the particulars of the body corporate or unincoporated body;
(b) the particulars of any partner, manager, director or other person, who wholly or partly exercises or may exercise control over that body corporate or unincorporated body and who was involved in the offence or who ought reasonably to have known or suspected that the body corporate or unincorporated body committed the offence; and
(c) the conviction, sentence and any other order of the court consequent thereupon,
be endorsed in the register.
(3) The court may in addition to the conviction issue an order provided for in subsection (1) in respect of-
(a) any body corporate or unincorporated body owned or controlled by the person so convicted; or
(b) the particulars of any partner, manager, director or other person, who wholly or partly exercises or may exercise control over such other body corporate or unincorporated body,
and which-
(i) body corporate or unincorporated body, partner, manager, director or other person was involved in the offence, or
(ii) partner, manager, director or other person knew or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that the body corporate or unincorporated body was involved in the offence.
(4) Whenever the register is endorsed as stipulated in subsections (1), (2) and (3), the endorsement applies, unless the court directs otherwise, to every body corporate or unincorporated body to be established in the future and which body corporate or unincorporated body will be wholly or partly controlled or owned by the person or the body corporate or unincorporated body so convicted or endorsed, and the register shall in respect of every such body corporate or unincorporated body, be endorsed accordingly.
(5) Where a court has issued an order under subsection (1), the clerk of such court shall forward the court order to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board established under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.