Reps pass proceeds of Crime Management Agency Bill through first reading

The House of Representatives has passed the Proceeds of Crime Management Agency Bill through first reading.

The Nation had exclusively reported on Monday that the bill will be presented this week.

The initial confusion was if or not the PCMA should be a stand-alone agency with its own operational laws and funding, or to make the previous Bill un-assented by President Muhammadu Buhari an omnibus Proceeds of Crime law usable by all anti-graft agencies.

The new PCMA Bill provides an institutional framework for the management of proceeds of crime or benefits derived from unlawful activities.

It also harmonises and consolidates existing legislative provisions on the management of the Proceeds of crime in Nigeria.

The proposes act also makes provision for the disposal of seized, confiscated and forfeited property derives from unlawful activities and any instrumentalities used or intended to be used in the commission of unlawful activities.

The agency, The Nation learnt is to manage over 2000 (two thousand seized landed. property apart from ships, yachts, the several cars in various car-dumps across the country and even foreign property.

Recall that the Proceed of crime bill was passed in the House of Reps as far back as 2018 but was one of the 17/bills returned by President Muhammadu Buhari unassented recently.

Sources told The Nation that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practises and other related offences Commission, ICPC, the Nigerian Customs Service and the Nigerian Police, amongst others, were all against the bill because of the agency.

This according to them was because of the contentious Proceeds of Crime Management Agency inserted into the bill, which they believed had taken away most or their powers.

This obviously informed the decision of the House to make the Agency a stand-alone institution with it’s own law, a source revealed.