Section 53

The Authority may, with the consent in writing of the

Public Prosecutor, compound any offence committed by any person under this Act or its subsidiary legislation and prescribed to be a compoundable offence by making a written offer to the person

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suspected to have committed the offence to compound the offence upon payment to the Authority an amount of money not exceeding fifty per centum of the maximum fine for that offence within such time as may be specified in the written offer.

An offer under subsection (2) may be made at any time after the offence has been committed but before any prosecution for it has been instituted, and if the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the time specified in the offer, or such extended time as the Authority may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the offer was made.

Where an offence has been compounded under subsection (2), no prosecution shall be instituted in respect of the offence against the person to whom the offer to compound was made, and any equipment, instrument, material, book, record, account, document or thing seized under this Act or its subsidiary legislation in connection with the offence may be released by the Authority, subject to such terms and conditions as it thinks fit to impose in accordance with the conditions of the compound.

All sums of money received by the Authority under this section shall be paid into the Federal Consolidated Fund.

Prosecution