Question NW456 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
05 April 2024 - NW456
Bergman, Mr D to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
(1) What is the (a) total number of prosecutors from the National Prosecuting Authority who work on the cases of the National Lottery Commission (NLC) and (b) time period that the same prosecutors have been allocated to the NLC cases. (2) what (a) total number of cases (i) have been handed to each prosecutor, (ii) has each prosecutor decided to prosecute and (iii) that have been prosecuted have been finalised with an outcome and (b) were the outcomes in each case?
Reply:
I have received the following response from the National Prosecuting Authority:
1. (a) Initially one prosecutor was allocated the matters. An additional prosecutor was subsequently tasked to assist, as the workload increased. Prosecutorial resources are reviewed regularly to manage the increasing workload.
(b) The cases involving the NLC were assigned to the initial prosecutor in the latter part of 2020.
2. (a)There are a total of 11 NLC cases that were received from the SIU, one of which is an enquiry.
(i) The two prosecutors assigned to attend to these matters are handling them with a holistic approach and regard it as one big project. The 11 matters are therefore jointly allocated to the two prosecutors.
(ii) The SIU referrals to the NPA do not constitute a fully investigated criminal case that would enable the prosecution to immediately decide on a matter and make an informed decision. Such matters have been referred to the DPCI, who is mandated to conduct the necessary outstanding investigations that have been identified by the prosecution. All 11 matters are still under investigation and the prosecution team is awaiting the DPCI to finalise the investigations that would include forensic reports and further statements to be obtained. Only then will the NPA be able to make an informed decision whether or not to institute a prosecution.
(iii) No prosecutions have been instituted at present, please see the response in 2(a)(ii) above. This also applies to question 2(b).