By Amin Kef Sesay
In a public notice dated 3rd March 2022 and issued by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) it was stated that in a bid to sustain, consolidate and improve on the remarkable gains the country has made thus far in the fight against corruption, the Commission is re-introducing a reward and incentives scheme for informants, whistleblowers and citizens who support the ACC in its fight against corruption.
In that vein, any member of the public who provides cogent and useful information to the Commission that leads to the successful prosecution and conviction of, and/or recovery of funds or property from a corrupt person (including public officers) will be rewarded 10 percent of the total amount or value of the 10 percent withheld by the Commission for its operations as per law.
For instance, where the information provided by an informant or whistleblower leads to the recovery of One Billion Leones (Le 1,000,000,000), the ACC will, as stipulated in Section 139 of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008 as amended in 2019, withhold One Hundred Million Leones (Le 100,000,000) of the said sum, which constitutes 10 percent of the proceeds.
Thereafter, the Commission will pay the sum of Ten Million Leones (Le 10,000,000) in full to the informant or whistleblower, which would amount to 10 percent of the proceeds withheld as in the aforesaid example.
Furthermore, the ACC says it is assuring all informants of their full protection as provided for in Sections 81 and 82 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 as amended in 2019 and the Witness and Whistleblower Protection Policy of the Commission including anonymity, identity masking, security, relocation, transfer, etc.
