[Blog] Reward Money: No transfer is executed solely by one person 

eward money is cash offered to the public for information leading to arrests in cases of drug-trafficking or other serious crimes. The current practice of offering monetary rewards for sharing information that leads to arrests in Mauritius suffers from a lack of transparency and unclear procedures, leading to abuse. 

This undermines public trust in law enforcement and risks discouraging both genuine informers and police officers. There is presently, therefore, an urgent need to address alleged misuse of funds and corruption linked to reward money. One must establish a transparent, accountable, and fair reward money payment system that will enhance crime fighting effectiveness while simultaneously safeguarding the rights of informers. 

Finally, one needs to reinforce public trust in the police. In order to address the problem, one has also to establish a clear set of rules to provide informers with anonymity in accessing the reward money. Perhaps, the time is ripe to set up a committee including the judiciary, civil society, and the police to determine the amount of funds to be paid as reward money. 

An informer will come forward, provide as much data as he has, and be informed of how much he will obtain within a given time frame as reward money after the completion of an identified operation. All reward money payments should be subject to an internal control system and be accessible to the National Audit Office. 

We present below the proposals from Think Mauritius for the disbursement and control of the reward money. One needs to put in place a system that permits full control of the movement of liquid funds from one location to another while the ultimate beneficiary ’s identity has to remain secret. He will receive, as a reward, a percentage (e.g.) 1% of the value of the product seized and taken in safe custody from the tort-feasors. The ceiling may be fixed at (e.g.) Rs 500,000 so that he receives the lower of the two figures. There will be a dual, or four-eyes, control that ensures that no transfer is executed solely by one person. This therefore calls for two police officers to participate in each operation. These two officers in charge of the operation will then obtain possession of the reward funds through a cheque payable to the senior-most of the two. The transfer will be completed when the funds are cleared and deposited in a designated bank account which is not a joint account. When payment to the ultimate beneficiary is made, the relative funds will be withdrawn jointly from the account by both police officers who will execute the operation in secret under the oath of confidentiality. 

Following the operation, a joint correspondence signed by the two officers will be addressed to the chief stating how much funds have been disbursed and how much is still available for future payments. It is absolutely necessary to have this time frame for the payments. 

There should also be only one contact informer for each case. The reward money will be disbursed fully only to that informer within 60 days from the time the products are taken in safe custody and finally valued. Should any residual cash remain unclaimed after 60 days, it will be returned to the chief and the relative case will be closed (e.g.) following the death of the informer. The chief will be informed accordingly as there will be no inheritance issues. 

By S. Chadee. Retired Manager at Bank of Mauritius 

Think Mauritius