Preliminary

PART I – PRELIMINARY

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Good Governance and Integrity Reporting Act 2015.

2. Interpretation

In this Act –
“Agency” means the Integrity Reporting Services Agency established under section 4(1);
“Board” means the Integrity Reporting Board referred to in section 7(1);
“Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board appointed under section 7(1)(a);
“consultant” means a person employed as such under section 4(6);
“Director” means the Director of the Agency appointed under section 4(5);
“document” includes information recorded in written, electronic or any other form, together with access to the technology enabling information in electronic form to be retrieved;
“employee” means a person employed as such under section 4(6);
“enforcement authority” means the Mauritius Police Force, the Mauritius Revenue Authority, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Financial Intelligence Unit or such other body as may be prescribed;
“liquidator” means a person appointed under section 17(2);
“local authority” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act;
“member” –

1. means a member of the Board; and
2. includes the Chairperson;

“Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of good governance is assigned;
“property” has the same meaning as in the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act;
“public interest entity” has the same meaning as in the Financial Reporting Act;
“public sector agency” means a public sector agency specified in the Schedule;
“respondent” means a person against whom an application for an Unexplained Wealth Order is made;
“reward” includes payment to compensate victims of fraud, white collar crimes or retaliation, or such other payment as may be prescribed;
“statutory body” has the same meaning as in the Statutory Bodies (Accounts and Audit) Act;
“unexplained wealth” includes any property –

1. under the ownership of a person to an extent which is disproportionate to his emoluments and other income;
2. the ownership, possession, custody or control of which cannot be satisfactorily accounted for by the person who owns, possesses, has custody or control of the property; or
3. held by a person for another person to an extent which is disproportionate to the emoluments or other income of that other person;

“Unexplained Wealth Order” means an order issued under section 16 for confiscation of property;
“virtual asset” has the same meaning as in the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021.

Amended by [Act No.13 of 2019]; [Act No. 5 of 2020]; [Act No. 15 of 2022]

3. Application of Act

1. This Act shall bind the State.
2. This Act shall apply to the property of citizens of Mauritius.
3. This Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation from –
   1. Chapter IX of the Constitution;
   2. the Asset Recovery Act;
   3. the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act; and
   4. the Prevention of Corruption Act.
4. Nothing in this Act shall affect the power of a Court to order the confiscation of any property in pursuance of its power under any other enactment.
5. Any application made under this Act shall constitute civil proceedings and the onus shall lie on the respondent to establish, on a balance of probabilities, that any property is not unexplained wealth.
6. This Act shall not apply to –
   1. any property acquired or having come in the possession or under the custody or control of a person more than 7 years before the commencement of the Act;
   2. unexplained wealth of less than 10 million rupees, other than to unexplained wealth of at least 2.5 million rupees in cash which has been seized by an enforcement authority during a criminal investigation.
7. No application for an Unexplained Wealth Order shall be made under section 14 in relation to any property acquired or having come in the possession or under the custody or control of a person more than 7 years before the date on which a request under section 5 (1)(a) is made.

Amended by [Act No.13 of 2019]; [Act No. 5 of 2020]