President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratifies amendments to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act and the Penal Code of the Maldives.
President Solih ratified the fourth amendment to the Penal Code of Maldives which criminalises offering bribes and details the provisions whereby a person may be held liable for this offence. As per the amendment, offering bribes is classified as a class three felony.
The new amendment to the Penal Code also introduces other offences such as, acquiring wealth through illegitimate means, misusing state funds or assets, acting in a manner which gives a direct disadvantage to the state and asserting undue influence on businesses. Details for prosecution under these offences are also included in the amendment.
Parliament of the Maldives passed the fourth amendment to the Penal Code on April 19, 2021. Once the new amendment to the Penal Code are published in the gazette, the Prevention and Prohibition of Corruption Act will be nullified.
Moreover, President Solih ratified the second amendment to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act. The amendments were brought to Article 23 of the Act, which is concerned with defining corruption.
As per the new amendment, acts of corruption entail the criminal activities mentioned in Articles 510, 513, 515, 516, 517 and 518 of the Penal Code, along with any other act that is identified as corrupt in any statute. Furthermore, enabling an action that is deemed corrupt, would also be considered an act of corruption.
These amendments to the ACC Act were passed by the Parliament on April 19, 2021. Upon ratification, the amendments have now been published in the Government Gazette.