Cap. 101 чл. 24CFreezing of property of person accused with offences cognizable by Courts outside Malta.

(1) Where the Attorney General receives a request made by a judicial or prosecuting authority of any place outside Malta for the temporary seizure of all or any of the moneys or property, movable or immovable, of a person (hereinafter in this article referred to as "the accused") charged or accused in proceedings before the courts of that place of an offence consisting in an act or an omission which if committed in these Islands, or in corresponding circumstances, would constitute any of the offences mentioned in article 24A(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), the Attorney General may apply to the Criminal Court for an order (hereinafter referred to as a "freezing order") having the same effect as an order as is referred to in article 22A(1) and the provisions of the said article 22A shall, subject to the following provisions of this article, apply to that order. mutatis mutandis

(2) The first proviso of article 22A(1) shall not apply to a freezing order made under this article unless:

(a) the accused is present in Malta on the date the order is made; or

(b) the Attorney General or any other interested person present in Malta applies to the court, before or after the order is made, for the application of that proviso in which case the court shall only apply the proviso to the extent that it is satisfied that the application of the proviso is necessary to allow the accused and his family a decent living.

(3) In the case of a freezing order under this article it shall be sufficient that the order contains at least four of the particulars referred to in article 22A(4) and may also contain any other particulars, including the passport number, of the accused as may be useful to identify the accused.

(4) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (5), a freezing order under this article shall remain in force for a period of six months from the date on which it is made but shall be renewed by the court for further periods of six months upon an application for that purpose by the Attorney General and upon the court being satisfied that:

(a) the conditions which led to the making of the order still exist; or

(b) that the accused has been convicted of an offence as is referred to in sub-article (1) in the proceedings referred to in the same sub-article and the sentence in regard to the accused in those proceedings or any confiscation order consequential or accessory thereto, whether made in civil or criminal proceedings, has not been executed: Provided that where the accused has been convicted as aforesaid but no confiscation order has been made in the sentence in respect of that conviction the freezing order shall nevertheless be renewed as requested by the Attorney General where the court is satisfied that civil or criminal proceedings for the making of such an order are pending or are imminent.

(5) Any freezing order under this article may be revoked by the Court before the expiration of the period laid down in sub-article (4):

(a) at the request of the Attorney General; or

(b) at the request of any interested person and after hearing the Attorney General upon the court being satisfied:

(i) that the conditions which led to the making of the order no longer exist; or

(ii) that there has been a final decision in the proceedings referred to in sub-article (1) by virtue of which the accused has not been found guilty of any offence as is referred to in the same sub-article.

(6) Article 22B shall also apply to any person who acts in contravention of a freezing order under this article.