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Asset forfeiture crucial in crime fight—DPP

 

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mary Kachale says the establishment of an asset recovery system as a tool for recovering proceeds from crime is crucial to deterring theft and other criminal activities in the country.

Speaking during the opening of a workshop for lawyers and police investigators in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Kachale  said asset forfeiture is important in the fight against crimes.

She said: “Greed drives financial crimes. It is vital, therefore, to ensure that not only do we prosecute and seek convictions and punishment for economic or financial crime perpetrators, but to also take away their primary incentive through an effective asset recovery system.”

Kachale: It is an important system

Kachale, however, admitted that officers face challenges in tracing proceeds of crime because investigators do not consider forfeiture as part of criminal investigations.

“The ideal situation is where tracing proceeds of crime runs parallel to the main investigations to avoid dissipation, destruction or movement, as it becomes too late to start pursuing illegal assets after the conclusion of a prosecution,” she said.

But Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn) executive director Dalitso Kubalasa said there is need for thorough preparations before the forfeiture body is set up.

He said: “The forfeiture body could help in checking abuse of public resources but there must be proper due diligence before setting it up because sometimes government loses cases and ends up paying huge sums of money. What is also needed is to capacitate the office of Assets Directorate as well and ensure that access to information is easy.”

Kubalasa said once government starts forfeiting items or resources obtained through crime, it will send a strong signal to the society that money obtained illegally will not be enjoyed even if one serves sentence.

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