Cap. 492 чл. 34Investigations.

(1) The Commissioner may, investigate the affairs of any voluntary organisation at any time and may demand from any person, in writing, any relevant information relating to the operation of a voluntary organisation or related to any person involved in the activities of a voluntary organisation, if he receives what he considers to be a valid complaint in writing or if he has cause to believe that such information is necessary in order to establish whether a voluntary organisation is acting in compliance with the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder:

Provided that where the complaint arises from a member of the public who seeks information required to be filed with the Commissioner under this Act which is for any reason absent from the Register, the complaint need not be in writing and the Commissioner shall be entitled to presume that the complaint is valid on establishing that the information is absent from the Register and he may then proceed to take action against the organisation and, or its administrators without the need for a formal investigation under this article.

(2) Any person who fails to provide information and documentation as aforesaid, within ten (10) days of being requested to do so, and destroys or defaces documents, or attempts to destroy or deface documents, required by the Commissioner pursuant to this article shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) The Commissioner may issue directives demanding compliance with any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder and failure on the part of any person to comply with such directives shall constitute a breach of duty.

(4) The Commissioner may set a period for compliance with any directives he may give or for compliance with any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder and may impose penalties for non-compliance within such period: Provided that such penalties shall not exceed two thousand and three hundred and twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents (2,329.37) for the breach of a directive and one hundred and sixteen euro and forty-seven cents (116.47) for each day of non-compliance and such penalties shall be paid to the Voluntary Organisations Fund. Tribunal may give any directions it considers appropriate and any penalties imposed by the Commissioner in terms of subarticle (4) shall be suspended until final determination by the Tribunal.

(6) A demand under this article may also be sent to a person who is bound by a duty of professional secrecy under the

Professional Secrecy Act and for the purposes of article 6A of such Act the Commissioner shall be considered to be a public authority. Any information obtained by the Commissioner upon such a demand shall be used exclusively for the purposes of this article.

(7) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article (1), the Commissioner has the right to request any other information required in terms of the provisions of this Act including personal information and any other data of identification of a person, provided that such data is not divulged to third parties without the written consent of the persons involved and provided this information is in conformity with the provisions of the Data

Protection Act.

(8) For the purpose of sub-article (7) any personal information may include but shall not be limited to:

(a) names of donors and beneficiaries;

(b) names of sponsors;

(c) details of any other person or entity with whom the organisation would have made any kind of transaction including financial transactions;

(d) personal details of employees including payslips;

(e) beneficiaries of companies (including shareholders):

Provided that the requirements mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) are necessary for the purpose of maximum transparency and accountability and may enable the Commissioner in identifying any irregularities or suspicions from annual returns and reports and eventually take any necessary action:

Provided further that the requirements under paragraphs

(d) and (e) shall only be requested by the Commissioner in exceptional cases and shall not be made accessible to the public.

(9) For the purpose of this article, the Commissioner shall also be vested with the power to request the banks or any financial authority or entity for any other information required in terms of the provisions of this Act and he shall have the right to obtain such information as may be required without the need of having to file an action before the Tribunal or the Civil Court. Commissioner for Revenue, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, the Asset Recovery Bureau, the Malta Financial Services Authority and the Courts of Justice, and also to disclose any information to such other entities or authorities:

Provided that such information may include any other information from the Registrar of Courts and, or the Office of the Attorney General or the Office of the State Advocate respectively, relating to any pending criminal or civil proceedings, with particular reference to any information concerning the attachment, freezing, confiscation and seizure of assets:

Provided further that any privileged information obtained by the Commissioner upon such request, shall be used exclusively for the purposes of the powers vested in him in terms of this article and shall not be made accessible to the public.

(11) The Commissioner may also request any member or administrator of the voluntary organisation, or those claiming or alleging to be members or administrators of the voluntary organisation concerned, to submit a conduct certificate issued under the Conduct Certificates Ordinance, and may refuse to issue an enrolment certificate or withdraw any issued enrolment certificate to such member or administrator of the voluntary organisation who fails to provide such conduct certificate.

(12) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (3) of article 3 of the

Conducts Certificate Ordinance, the Commissioner may, in the course of his investigations, request a complete record of criminal convictions of any member or administrator of a voluntary organisation. The Commissioner may refuse to issue an enrolment certificate, or withdraw any issued enrolment certificate, if the person to whom the record of criminal convictions relates refuses to give his consent as required under sub-article (3) of article 3 of the Conducts Certificate Ordinance.