Financial crimes court drills lawyers
High Court of Malawi Financial Crimes Division Judge-in- Charge Redson Kapindu has stressed the importance of lawyers keeping abreast with the law and systems for successful financial crimes litigation.
Speaking yesterday in Lilongwe during the opening of a training on governance and corruption for law enforcement agencies organised by Basel Institute, he said the area of financial crimes is relatively new in the country, as such, it is necessary for the lawyers in the sector to keep learning.
the training
Said Kapindu: “The Corrupt Practices Act has at least been tested for a while, but these newer pieces of legislation dealing with financial crimes have not really been substantially tested comprehensively.
“So, because of that, it is important that people who are coming from jurisdictions where they have had and dealt with these matters for a longer time come to share their knowledge and experiences with our lawyers here.”
But he was quick to add that the law in Malawi is adequate for prosecution of financial crimes.
“Sometimes it may be possible for people to have challenges using the instruments they have because of inadequacy of training and that is where we need training such as this one,” said Kapindu.
Basel Institute team leader in Malawi Carolyne Lamptey, who is also a United Kingdom (UK)-
bas ed se n ior a s s e t recovery specialist, said they organised the training in line with the capacity strengthening needs of the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
“The officers will be equipped with good case analysis, how to decide whether to go with the case on civil route or criminal route or sometimes both and then decide on how to persuade the judge in a compelling way to get the order that they are looking for,” she said.
Lamptey, who has previously conducted similar training sessions in the country, is a senior lawyer with the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service and has specialised in asset recovery/proceeds of crime for the last 20 years.
The training is part of the country’s efforts to boost the fight against corruption and recovery of stolen property.
