Criminal Offences Regulations, 2021

L.N. 312 of 2021

CRIMINAL CODE

(CAP. 9)

Facilitating the Use of Financial and other Information for the

Prevention, Detection, Investigation or Prosecution of certain

Criminal Offences Regulations, 2021

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 701 of the

Criminal Code, the Minister responsible for justice, has made the

following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Facilitating the Citation and

Use of Financial and other Information for the Prevention, Detection, scope.

Investigation or Prosecution of certain Criminal Offences Regulations,

2021. (2) The scope of these regulations is to transpose Directive

(EU) 2019/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20

June 2019 laying down rules facilitating the use of financial and other

information for the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution

of certain criminal offences, and repealing Council Decision 2000/632/

JHA.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

Interpretation.

"designated authorities" means the Executive Police, the

Attorney General and any Magistrate conducting inquiries relating to

the in genere in terms of article 546 of the Criminal Code;

"financial analysis" means the results of operational and strategic

analysis that has already been carried out by the Unit in the pursuance

of its tasks and functions under article 16(1) and (f) of the Prevention Cap. 373.

of Money Laundering Act;

"financial information" means any type of information or date,

such as data on financial assets, movements of funds or financial

business relationships, which is already held by the Unit to prevent,

detect and effectively combat money laundering and terrorist

financing, other than information or data gathered or held by the Unit

in relation to its supervisory function under article 16(1)(c), article

16(1)(k)(ii), and article 26 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Cap. 373.

Act;

"law enforcement information" means any type of information or

data, including but not limited to information on investigations,

freezing or seizure of assets or other investigative or provisional

measures, information on convictions and on confiscation and criminal

records, which is already held by

(a) any designated authority in the context of preventing,

detecting, investigating or prosecuting criminal offences; and

(b) public authorities or private entities in the context of

preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting criminal

offences and which is available to the designated authorities

according to the provisions of any other law applicable to them;

"serious criminal offences" means the forms of crime listed in

Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and

of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for

Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and replacing and repealing

Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA,

2009/936/JHA and 2009/968/JHA, tax evasion, and any other offence

under the National Interest (Enabling Powers) Act;

"Unit" means the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit

established in accordance with article 15 of the Prevention of Money

Laundering Act;

The designated authorities may process the financial

information and financial analysis received from the Unit for the

specific purpose of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting

serious criminal offences other than the purposes for which personal

data are collected in accordance with Article 4(2) of Directive (EU)

2016/680.

(1) The Unit may request law enforcement information

from the designated authorities where the information is necessary for

the prevention, detection and combating of money laundering,

associate predicate offences and terrorist financing.

(2) The designated authorities shall respond, on a case-by-case

basis, in a timely manner to requests for law enforcement information

made by the Unit.

(1) The designated authorities may exchange financial

information or financial analysis obtained from the Unit, upon request

and on a case by case basis, with a designated authority in another

Member State, where the financial information or financial analysis is

necessary for the prevention, detection and combating of money

laundering, associate predicate offences and terrorist financing.

(2)

The designated authorities may impose conditions and

restrictions on the use of exchanged information as they may

determine in order to ensure that the financial information or financial

analysis exchanged is used only for the purpose for which it was

sought or provided.

(3) Any dissemination of financial information or financial

analysis obtained by the designated authorities from the FIU of another

Member State to any other authority, agency or department or any use

of the information for purposes other than those originally approved is

subject to the obtaining of prior consent of the FIU providing the

information.

(4) The designated authorities shall apply and make use of

dedicated secure electronic communications ensuring high level of

data security when transmitting requests and responses for exchange of

information.

(1) The designated authorities shall maintain records Records of

information

relating to requests for information.

requests.

(2)

The records shall contain

(a) the name and contact details of the organisation and

of the staff member requesting the information and, if possible,

of the recipient of the results of the query or search;

(b) the reference to the case in relation to which the

information is requested;

(c)

the subject matter of the request; and

(d)

any executing measures of such requests.

(3) The records shall be kept for a period of five (5) years after

their creation and shall be used solely for the purpose of checking the

lawfulness of the processing of personal data

Provided that these records shall be made available to the

Unit upon its request.

(1) The designated authorities shall keep the following Statistical data.

statistical data

(a) number of requests issued by each designated

authority, the follow-up given to the requests, the number of

cases investigated, the number of persons prosecuted and the

number of persons convicted for serious criminal offences,

where such information is available;

(b) data measuring the time it takes for an authority to

respond to a request after the receipt of the request issued by a

designated authority and the time a designated authority takes to

respond to requests;

(c) data measuring the cost of human or IT resources

dedicated to domestic and cross-border requests falling under

these regulations, if available.

(2)

The statistical data shall be compiled on an annual basis.

€0.36