Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 · Updated to 6 Oct 2023 · Part VIII · Examination and Investigation
89. Powers of an investigating officer
Feedback & supportAn investigating officer appointed under subsection 88(1)
officer
“officer”, in relation to an institution, means any of its employees and includes its Chief Executive Officer;
may, without a search warrant—
enter any premises;
search such premises, seize and detain any property, record, report, document, apparatus, equipment, machinery, computer, computer output, system, data, books or information and seize and detain any property, record, report or document which is necessary in the investigating
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officer’s opinion, for the purpose of an investigation into an offence under this Act;
inspect, make copies of, or take extracts from, any record, report, document, computer, computer output, system, data, books or information so seized and detained, including access to any program or data held in any computer or have access to, inspect or check the operation of any computer and any associated apparatus or material;
take possession of, and remove from the premises, any property, record, report, document, apparatus, equipment, machinery, computer, computer output, system, data, books or information so seized and detained and detain it for such period as he deems necessary;
search any person who is in, or on such premises, if the investigating officer has reason to suspect that that person has on his person any property, record, report, document, apparatus, equipment, machinery, computer, computer output, system, data, books or information, including personal document, necessary, in the investigating officer’s opinion, for the purpose of an investigation into an offence under this Act;
break open, examine, and search, any article, container or receptacle, including accessing into a computer; or
stop, detain or search any conveyance.
An investigating officer may if it is necessary so to do—
break open any outer or inner door of any premises and enter such premises;
remove by force any obstruction to such entry, search, seizure, detention or removal as he is empowered to effect;
or
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detain any person found on such premises until the search is completed.
An investigating officer may seize, take possession of, and detain for such duration as he thinks necessary, any property, record, report, document, apparatus, equipment, machinery, computer, computer output, system, data, books or information produced before him in the course of his investigation or found on the person who is being searched by him.
property
“property” means any movable or immovable property, whether tangible or intangible and includes— (a) any right, interest, title, claim, chose in action, power or privilege, whether present or future, or whether vested or contingent, in relation to any property, or which is otherwise of value; (b) any conveyance executed for conveying, assigning, appointing, surrendering, or otherwise transferring or disposing of immovable property of which the person executing the conveyance is the proprietor or has possession or in which he is entitled to a contingent right, either for the whole interest or for any less interest; (c) any security, including any stock, share, debenture and fund; (d) any negotiable instrument, including any bank note, bearer note, Treasury bill, dividend warrant, bill of exchange, promissory note, cheque and negotiable certificate of deposit; or (e) any mortgage or charge, whether legal or equitable, guarantee, lien or pledge, whether actual or constructive, letter of hypothecation, trust receipt, indemnity, undertaking or other means of securing payment or discharge of a debt or liability, whether present or future, or whether vested or contingent;
An investigating officer shall, for the purposes of this section, be provided with the necessary password, encryption code, decryption code, software or hardware and any other means required to enable comprehension of any program or data held in any computer including in a form in which the information contained in a computer can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible.
Any computer output, data, books, document, information or statement obtained by or provided to an investigating officer in the course of a search under this section shall, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, be admissible in evidence in any proceedings under this
computer output
“computer output” means a statement or representation, whether in written, printed, pictorial, film, graphical, acoustic or other form— (a) produced by a computer; (b) displayed on the screen of a computer; or (c) accurately translated from a statement or representation so produced;
Act.
An investigating officer, in the course of his investigation or search, shall—
prepare and sign a list of every property, record, report, document, apparatus, equipment, machinery, computer, computer output, system, data, books or information seized;
and
state in the list the location in which, or the person on whom, the property, record, report, document, apparatus, equipment, machinery, computer, computer output, system, data, books or information is found or obtained.
The occupant of the premises entered in the course of investigation, or any person on his behalf, shall in every instance be permitted to attend during the search, sign the search list or affix his
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thumb print thereon, and be given a copy of the search list prepared and signed or affixed thumb print under this section.
Where such occupant or person acting on behalf of the occupant refuses to sign the search list or affix his thumb print on the search list, the investigating officer shall endorse on the search list, under his name, the fact of and reasons for such refusal, if any, stated by such occupant or person acting on behalf of the occupant.
person
“person” includes an individual, any corporation, statutory body, local authority, society, trade union, co-operative society, partnership and any other body, organization, association or group of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate;