Senate passes Proceeds of Crime Bill 2022

The Senate, on Wednesday at plenary, passed the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill, 2022.

The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Joint Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes; and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

Presenting the Joint Committee’s report, Sen. Suleiman Kwari (APC-Kaduna), said the bill seeks to provide for the restraint, seizure, confiscation and forfeiture of properties derived from unlawful activities.

He explained that if signed into law, it would expand the mandates of existing statutory institutions to manage proceeds of crime, rather than creating a new body to carry out such function.

Kwari said the passage would also facilitate the establishment of departments in relevant organisations to manage forfeited assets as well as provide for effective legal framework for the recovery of proceeds of crime.

The lawmaker explained further that the bill would strengthen the criminal confiscation procedure by ensuring that the total benefit from a person’s criminal activity is recovered.

According to him, it will galvanise the collaborative efforts of relevant government agencies in the implementation of confiscation proceedings against convicted persons in tracing and forfeiture of properties reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity through non-conviction based forfeiture proceedings.

The bill after consideration by the Committee of the Whole was passed by the Upper chamber.

The Star