Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001

• Permanent Page URL

PART 6

Convention on Protection of European Communities' Financial Interests

Interpretation (Part 6).

40.—(1) In this Part—

“active corruption” has the meaning given to it by Article 3.1 of the First Protocol;

“Community official” has the meaning given to it by Article 1.1(b) of the First Protocol;

“Convention” means the Convention drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests done at Brussels on 26 July 1995;

“First Protocol” means the Protocol drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests done at Brussels on 27 September 1996;

“fraud affecting the European Communities' financial interests” has the meaning given to it by Article 1.1 of the Convention;

“money laundering” has the meaning given to it by section 31 (as substituted by section 21 of this Act) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 ;

“national official”, for the purposes of the application in the State of Article 1.1(c) of the First Protocol, means any one of the following persons:

(a) a Minister of the Government or Minister of State;

(b) an Attorney General who is not a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann;

(c) the Comptroller and Auditor General;

(d) a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann;

(e) a judge of a court in the State;

(f) the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(g) any other holder of an office who is remunerated wholly or partly out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas;

(h) any person employed by a person referred to in any of paragraphs (d) to (g) in the performance of that person's official functions; and

(i) a director of, or an occupier of a position of employment in, a public body as defined in the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995 ,

and, for the purposes of the application in the State of Article 4.2 of the First Protocol, any one of the following persons shall be treated as a national official:

(i) a member of the Commission of the European Communities;

(ii) a member of the European Parliament;

(iii) a member of the Court of Justice of the European Communities;

(iv) a member of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities;

“official” has the meaning given to it by Article 1.1(a) of the First Protocol;

“passive corruption” has the meaning given to it by Article 2.1 of the First Protocol;

“Protocol on Interpretation” means the Protocol drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on the interpretation, by way of preliminary rulings, by the Court of Justice of the European Communities of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests done at Brussels on 29 November 1996; and

“Second Protocol” means the Protocol drawn up on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests done at Brussels on 19 June 1997.

(2) For the purposes of sections 42(c) and 45(1)(a)—

(a) a person benefits from fraud or money laundering if he or she obtains property as a result of or in connection with the commission of an offence under either of those provisions, and

(b) a person derives a pecuniary advantage from fraud or money laundering if he or she obtains a sum of money as a result of or in connection with the commission of such an offence.