ACC receives 21 complaints

| 14/07/2011

(CNS): Officials are giving very little away about the work of the new Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Commission, but the Commissions Secretariat confirmed this week that the body has investigated a total of twenty-one different complaints over the last 18 months. Since it was formed in January last year the commission has not yet made public any of the details regarding those investigations, including what triggered them or what the outcome was. “The commission will not release information on the types of information received or investigations conducted,” the secretariat told CNS in response to questions submitted about the work of the commission.

Given recent events, questions from the public have been increasing about the role of the new body established to support  anti-corruption legislation, which came into effect in January 2010 but has been shrouded in secrecy since its inception. However, the secretariat did say that there were plans afoot to reveal a little more about the commission in a public education campaign and to launch a website.

Deborah Bodden, head of the constitutional secretariat which supports the commission (even though it was not established under the Cayman Islands 2009 constitution), said the members were in the process of creating a manual which will detail its policies and procedures. She explained that once this was completed, the ACC members will begin media appearances to promote their roles.

The Anti-Corruption Commission Law also requires the commission to produce an annual report.  This report is sent to the governor, the deputy governor, the attorney general and the director of public prosecutions, and once it is reviewed it will be made available on the commission’s website, offering accountability to the public.  Bodden also revealed that there are plans to publish minutes from meetings on the website as well.

The commission meets on a quarterly basis and has now met five times. Reports of corruption offences may be filed by anyone and there is a confidential phone line for members of the public to make those reports (928-1747) or to provide the Anti-Corruption Commission with tips or information.

The ACC is supported by an Anti-Corruption Unit, staffed with specialist police officers. However, the law states that any police officer can receive reports of corruption and cause an investigation to be made. 

The chair of the commission is Police Commissioner David Baines and members include Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick as well as Complaints Commissioner Nicola Williams. The two civilian members appointed by the governor are Sir Peter Allen and Leonard Ebanks.

The commission has considerable powers but so far it is not known if it has used any of them in its 18 months of existence. It has the power, with the assistance of the Grand Court, to order a freeze on a person’s bank account or property for up to 21 days if there is reasonable cause to believe that the person is involved in corruption and members can also request banks and other entities release information needed in corruption investigations.

Under the law the commission’s purpose is to investigate any report of corruption, including any attempted offences or conspiracies to commit corruption, receive and, as permitted under the law, request, analyse and disseminate any information about corruption or suspected corruption and assist overseas anti-corruption authorities with corruption investigations.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    AND WHAT IS THE ACC DOING ABOUT IT.

    Where are the results;

    Where are the charges;

    Where are the prosecutions;

    Where are the sentences to the guilty;

    What is the point of making laws if theu are never applied.

  2. B.B.L. Brown says:

    It looks like another TCI situation in the making…………

  3. tim ridley says:

    With no disrespect to the Secretariat, this cannot be the right way to go about making the ACC effective. The first step should be to appoint an Executive Director (not from the UK or the RCIPS, but from somewhere such as Hong Kong that has a good track record of fighting corruption and winning), who is then given the resources to hire a staff of experienced and independent corruption fighters. I am afraid that seconding personnel from the RCIPS will not cut it (and with no disrespect to the current secondees).

    Unless these steps are taken, we will see a weak and ineffective ACC. That is not something the community deserves.

     

    Tim Ridley

  4. Anonymous says:

    I suspect that this comment will not get published.  If the ACC actually investigated all the instances of corruption, back handers, facilitation agreements and other breaches of the Anti Corruption Law then not only would it be investigating until 2050 but no business would get done on this island.  In my 4 years here I have encountered corruption – as defined by the Law itself – in the public sector, within the police, in the private sector and within non-profit organisations such as strata executive committees, XXXX and so on.  We would be blind to say that corruption of a similar kind does not occur in other societys however at least you can do business fairly on an equal footing day to day without it being the norm as I have found it to be here. 

  5. Anonymous says:

    CLEAN CAYMAN

    We are look to all of you on the commission to STOP corruption NOW before it roots itself in our culture and is irreversible. Corrrupt politicians, civil servants and others need to be prosecuted under the law to the fullest extent of the law to send a powerfull message to present and future generations that corruption and wrong doing will be prosecuted with resultant goal terms in Northward.

    The whole world is cleaning up corruption and Cayman continues to sweep it under the rug as they have done for the past 20 years. The time has come to clean Cayman and rid the country of corrupt individuals.

    Coruption is not nly the exchange of money it is also influence, intervention, circumvention, favours and maniplulation all punishable under the law.

    • Anonymous says:

      KNOWING OF     unethical   DEEDS AND KEEPING SILENT ARE ALSO CORRUPTION.