FIGURE 7.2
Sample Sanctions for Noncompliance Late filing/nonfiling
Fine of national daily minimum wage each day until declaration submitted
1. Notified of failure and given 15-day deadline 2. If filer does not submit even after deadline, disciplinary sanction and other possible sanctions
1. Fine between 10 and 30 monthly tax units 2. If filer does not submit even after fine is paid, position is terminated
1. Suspension from position for 15 days 2. Position is terminated
False Statement Most financial disclosure systems outline sanctions for false statements on disclosure forms, but very few actually charge officials with this offense. Practitioners point to the fact that false statement sanctions often require mens rea, or an element of intent, and this requirement can be the biggest hurdle to overcome in applying this particular sanction. Omissions, often included in this category, thus pose an added challenge, as proving intent to omit information is quite difficult. Unjustified Variations in Wealth Because of the difficulty of catching and prosecuting corruption offenses, many jurisdictions choose to implement a system that focuses on detecting illicit enrichment by monitoring and flagging significant changes in a public official’s wealth that cannot be explained by legitimate income. When discrepancies are detected between an official’s disclosure and his or her legitimate income, the disclosure framework imposes sanctions for the filing of false information. In addition, however, the underlying offense concealed by the lie may also result in a separate criminal prosecution. In such cases, both the filing violation and the filer’s disclosure form may be used as cause for an investigation, as assistance in an investigation, or as evidence in a prosecution. Systems that have specific sanctions for unjustified variation of wealth in the disclosure mechanism are very rare. In one example, any variation between assets and income above a certain threshold that cannot be justified can lead to the confiscation of the asset or its equivalent value. The path to confiscation has four steps: (a) the disclosure agency files a report documenting the unjustified variation of wealth; (b) the elements of the report are reviewed by a commission of two judges and a prosecutor, which can request further information and experts’ assessments, and can subpoena witnesses; (c) the commission decides whether to close the case or send it to court for a confiscation judgment; and (d) the court decides the form of confiscation (either confiscation of the assets that cannot be justified or payment of a sum of money equal to the value of 108
I
Getting the Full Picture on Public Officials