The Implications of Civil Asset Recovery, Unexplained Wealth Bill

Cordel Hyde

At the last house meeting, Prime Minister John Briceño introduced the Civil Asset Recovery and Unexplained Wealth Bill. The proposed legislation, once passed, empowers the Financial Intelligence Unit to reclaim ill-gotten assets and wealth obtained through criminal activities.  It is a bold step that will see not only politicians and public officers, but also private citizens brought under the microscope. Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde spoke with the media briefly about the implications of this proposed legislation.

Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources

“It will have teeth. It is a very, very serious legislation and people all over the country should take note, should be served warning – not just politicians, but also public officers and anybody in public life and anybody outside of public life. If you end up with property that you cannot account for, you can lose that property and more. And this legislation is saying that you can lose that property without a court conviction, yo know. But remember this thing was only tabled in the house on Friday. It will go to the house committee and people will have an opportunity to review it and have their input, but it is a very, very serious piece of legislation. So all dehn people weh di do thing and mi di do thing, they have to get serious because dehn wah get hambug. Just di put dehn pan warning.”