MINISTERS AND deputies would have to submit a capital statement within two months of assuming their position and two months after leaving, according to a proposed bill submitted by the Chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee, Panayiotis Demetriou, yesterday.
The proposed legislation, which is complemented by an anti-graft bill, comes to replace a similar bill passed by the House in 1999, which later turned out to be unconstitutional.
After that development the House was heavily criticised and accused of knowingly passing an unconstitutional law.
“With the submission of this proposal we are carrying out our commitment and reply to those who systematically and repeatedly accuse members of the House of passing an unconstitutional law to avoid scrutiny,” Demetriou said in the proposal.
The capital statement bill only covers ministers and deputies while the illicit gain of wealth scrutinises a long list of state officials from the President and House president, the Attorney-general, ministers, judges, the Central Bank governor, mayors, police and National Guard chiefs, chairmen of semi-governmental organisations, etc.
Under the first bill, ministers and deputies would be obliged to submit a capital statement two months after assuming their position and two months after leaving it.
They would also have to submit a statement every three years they spent in their position.
The bill provides that if any minister or deputy omits to submit a statement then they would be reported to the President and House president respectively who would deal with them according to their authorities.
A three-member council made up from the internal revenue officer, the auditor-general, and a prominent retired judge who would preside would be authorised to look into any irregularities and forward its findings to the attorney-general, the President, and the House president.
But the law does not provide for criminal charges to be brought against offenders and only aims in political scrutiny.
The capital statements would not be made public unless the concerned ministers or deputies give their authorisation for it to be published in the government gazette and any unauthorised reproduction of a statement or part thereof would constitute an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding £3,000 or up to one year imprisonment or both.
Under the bill the council is authorised, within the framework of an investigation, to request bank and tax confidentiality to be lifted.
Any assets belonging to the ministers’ or deputies’ spouses could only be included in the capital statement only with their written authorisation, the bill says.
The anti-graft bill however empowers the attorney-general to bring criminal charges against anyone suspected of committing the offence though deputies, who have immunity, could only be prosecuted after permission from the Supreme Court.
Penalties range from up to seven years in prison or not more than £25,000 fine or both while the court could seize any wealth proven to have been gained unlawfully.
The court could also order the spouse or every minor child to submit capital statements including every detail on when and how it had been gained.
According to the bill such an order could be extended to anyone who is suspected to be involved in the offence.
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