Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act
(CHAPTER 65A)

(Original Enactment: Act 29 of 1992)

REVISED EDITION 2000
(1st July 2000)
An Act to provide for the confiscation of benefits derived from, and to combat, corruption, drug trafficking and other serious crimes and for purposes connected therewith.
[44/2007 wef 01/11/2007]
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[30th November 1993]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1.  This Act may be cited as the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
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Interpretation
2.—(1)  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“authorised officer” means —
(a)any officer of the Bureau;
(b)any special investigator of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau appointed under section 3(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap. 241);
(c)any Commercial Affairs Officer appointed under section 64 of the Police Force Act 2004;
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(d)any police officer; and
(e)any other person authorised in writing by the Minister for the purposes of this Act;
“bank” means a bank licensed under the Banking Act (Cap. 19);
“charging order” means an order made under section 17(1);
“confiscation order” means an order made under section 4 or 5;
“corresponding law” means a law stated in a certificate purporting to be issued by or on behalf of the government of a foreign country to be a law providing for the control and regulation in that country of —
(a)the production, supply, use, export and import of drugs and other substances in accordance with the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed at New York on 30th March 1961;
(b)the production, supply, use, export and import of dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs in pursuance of any treaty, convention or other agreement or arrangement to which the government of that country and the Government of Singapore are for the time being parties; or
(c)the benefits of trafficking in the drugs or substances referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);
“criminal conduct” means —
(a)doing or being concerned in, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, any act constituting —
(i)a serious offence (other than an offence under section 44 or 47); or
(ii)a foreign serious offence;
(b)entering into or being otherwise concerned in, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, an arrangement whereby —
(i)the retention or control by or on behalf of another person of that other person’s benefits from an act referred to in paragraph (a) is facilitated; or
(ii)the benefits from an act referred to in paragraph (a) by another person are used to secure funds that are placed at that other person’s disposal, directly or indirectly, or are used for that other person’s benefit to acquire property by way of investment or otherwise;
(c)the acquisition, possession, use, concealing or disguising by a person of any property which is, or in part, directly or indirectly, represents, his benefits from an act referred to in paragraph (a); or
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(d)the conversion or transfer, by a person, of any property referred to in paragraph (c) or the removal of such property from the jurisdiction;
“dealing with property” is to be construed in accordance with section 16(7);
“defendant” means a person against whom proceedings have been instituted for a drug trafficking offence or a serious offence, as the case may be, or offences whether or not he has been convicted thereof;
“drug trafficking” means —
(a)doing or being concerned in, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, any act constituting —
(i)a drug trafficking offence (other than an offence under section 43 or 46); or
(ii)a foreign drug trafficking offence;
(b)entering into or being otherwise concerned in, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, an arrangement whereby —
(i)the retention or control by or on behalf of another person of that other person’s benefits from an act referred to in paragraph (a) is facilitated; or
(ii)the benefits from an act referred to in paragraph (a) by another person are used to secure funds that are placed at that other person’s disposal, directly or indirectly, or are used for that other person’s benefit to acquire property by way of investment or otherwise;
(c)the acquisition, possession, use, concealing or disguising by a person of any property which is, or in part, directly or indirectly, represents, his benefits from an act referred to in paragraph (a); or
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(d)the conversion or transfer by a person of any property referred to in paragraph (c) or the removal of such property from the jurisdiction;
“drug trafficking offence” means —
(a)any of the offences specified in the First Schedule;
(b)conspiracy to commit any of those offences;
(c)inciting another to commit any of those offences;
(d)attempting to commit any of those offences; or
(e)aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of any of those offences;
“financial institution” means —
(a)a bank licensed under the Banking Act (Cap. 19);
(b)a merchant bank that is approved as a financial institution under section 28 of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186);
(c)a finance company licensed under the Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108);
(d)the holder of a capital markets services licence under the Securities and Futures Act 2001;
(e)a licensed financial adviser under the Financial Advisers Act 2001;
(f)a company or society registered under the Insurance Act (Cap. 142) as a direct insurer carrying on life business;
(g)an insurance intermediary licensed under any written law relating to insurance intermediaries if the intermediary arranges contracts of insurance in respect of life business; and
(h)such other persons or class of persons as the Minister may by order prescribe,
but excludes a money-changer licensed to conduct money-changing business and a remitter licensed to conduct remittance business under the Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act (Cap. 187);
“foreign country” means any country or territory outside Singapore;
“foreign court” means a court of competent jurisdiction in a foreign country which is a party to any treaty, memorandum of understanding or agreement for the control of narcotic drugs or for assistance in criminal matters to which Singapore is also a party;
“foreign drug trafficking offence” means a drug trafficking offence punishable under a corresponding law;
“foreign serious offence” means an offence (other than a foreign drug trafficking offence) against the laws of, or of a part of, a foreign country stated in a certificate purporting to be issued by or on behalf of the government of that country and the act or omission constituting the offence or the equivalent act or omission would, if it had occurred in Singapore, have constituted a serious offence;
“gift caught by this Act” is to be construed in accordance with section 12(7) or (8);
“interest”, in relation to property, includes any right;
“making a gift” is to be construed in accordance with section 12(9);
“material” includes any book, document or other record in any form, and any container or article relating thereto;
“Monetary Authority of Singapore” means the Monetary Authority of Singapore established under section 3 of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186);
“officer of customs” has the same meaning as in the Customs Act (Cap. 70);
“officer of the Bureau” means the Director or any officer of the Central Narcotics Bureau appointed under section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap. 185);
“property” means money and all other property, movable or immovable, including things in action and other intangible or incorporeal property;
“realisable property” means —
(a)any property held by the defendant; and
(b)any property held by a person to whom the defendant has, directly or indirectly, made a gift caught by this Act;
“Registrar” means, in relation to proceedings in —
(a)the High Court — the Registrar, Deputy Registrar or Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court;
(b)a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court — the Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the Subordinate Courts;
“restraint order” means an order made under section 16(1);
“serious offence” means —
(a)any of the offences specified in the Second Schedule;
(b)conspiracy to commit any of those offences;
(c)inciting others to commit any of those offences;
(d)attempting to commit any of those offences; or
(e)aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of any of those offences;
“Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer” means an authorised officer —
(a)who has been appointed by the Minister as a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer for the purposes of this Act; and
(b)who has his appointment as a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer published in the Gazette;
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“value of gift” is to be construed in accordance with section 12;
“value of property” is to be construed in accordance with section 12(2).
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(2)  For the purposes of this Act —
(a)property is held by any person if he holds any interest in it;
(b)references to property held by a person include a reference to property vested in his trustee in bankruptcy or liquidator;
(c)references to an interest held by a person beneficially in property include a reference to an interest which would be held by him beneficially if the property were not so vested in his trustee in bankruptcy or liquidator;
(d)property is transferred by one person to another if the first person transfers or grants to the other any interest in the property;
(e)proceedings for an offence are instituted in Singapore when a person is produced and charged in court with the offence;
(f)proceedings in Singapore for a drug trafficking offence or a serious offence, as the case may be, are concluded on the occurrence of one of the following events:
(i)the discontinuance of the proceedings;
(ii)the acquittal of the defendant;
(iii)the quashing of the defendant’s conviction for the offence;
(iv)the grant of the President’s pardon in respect of the defendant’s conviction for the offence; and
(v)the satisfaction of a confiscation order made in the proceedings (whether by payment of the amount due under the order or by the defendant serving imprisonment in default); and
(g)an order is subject to appeal as long as an appeal or further appeal is pending against the order or (if it was made on a conviction) against the conviction; and for this purpose, an appeal or further appeal shall be treated as pending (where one is competent but has not been brought) until the expiration of the time for bringing the appeal.
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Application
3.—(1)  This Act shall apply to any drug trafficking offence or foreign drug trafficking offence whether committed before or after 30th November 1993.
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(2)  Nothing in this Act shall impose any duty or confer any power on any court in or in connection with any proceedings under this Act against a person for a drug trafficking offence in respect of which he has been convicted by a court before 30th November 1993.
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(3)  This Act shall apply to any serious offence or foreign serious offence whether committed before or after 13th September 1999.
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(4)  Nothing in this Act shall impose any duty or confer any power on any court in connection with any proceedings under this Act against a person for a serious offence in respect of which he has been convicted by a court before 13th September 1999.
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(5)  This Act shall apply to any property, whether it is situated in Singapore or elsewhere.