S.L. 492.3 Art. 22ReviewProcedures by the Commissioner. Renumbered and amended: L.N. 424 of 2021. Cap. 77. Cap. 77.

(1) The Commissioner shall, in order to investigate matters, or the conduct of affairs of a voluntary organisation, in terms of the powers vested in him by means of articles 7(g), 7(h) and article

34 of the Act, have the right to request any information, documents and, or clarifications from any public or private entity or authority and from any person, including but not limited to administrators, members, collectors, fund raisers, donors or volunteers of any voluntary organisation or those claiming or alleging to have such status, as he may deem necessary in the circumstances.

(2) The Commissioner shall also be entitled to disclose any information to such entity or authority or person for the purpose of investigating matters of a voluntary organisation, when he has a suspicion that such voluntary organisation or an administrator or member thereof is carrying out any illegal activity, including but not limited to money laundering and financing of terrorism, or any other illicit or criminal activity.

(3) Saving the provisions of sub-regulation (2), the Commissioner is entitled to obtain any information from other entities or authorities, including but not limited to, the Registrar for Legal Persons, the Malta Security Service, Jobsplus, the Commissioner of Police, the Commissioner for Revenue, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, the Asset Recovery Bureau, the Malta Financial Services Authority and the Courts of Justice and also to disclose any information to such other entities or authorities:

Provided that such information may include any other information from the Registrar of Courts and, or the Office of the Attorney General or the Office of the State Advocate respectively, relating to any pending criminal or civil proceedings, with particular reference to any information concerning the attachment, freezing, confiscation and seizure of assets:

Provided further that any privileged information obtained by the Commissioner upon such request, shall be used exclusively for the purposes of the powers vested in him in terms these regulations and shall not be made accessible to the public.

(4) The Commissioner may also request any member or administrator of the voluntary organisation, or those claiming or alleging to have such status, to submit a conduct certificate issued under the Conduct Certificates Ordinance and may refuse to issue an enrolment certificate to such member or administrator of the voluntary organisation, or withdraw any issued enrolment certificate, (PUBLIC COLLECTIONS)

if such member or administrator of the voluntary organisation fails to provide such conduct certificate.

(5) Subject to the provisions of article 3(3) of the Conduct

Certificates Ordinance the Commissioner may, in the course of his investigations, request a complete record of criminal convictions of any member or administrator of the voluntary organisation concerned. The Commissioner may refuse to issue an enrolment certificate, or withdraw any issued enrolment certificate, if the person to whom the record of criminal convictions relates refuses to give his consent as required under article 3(3) of the Conduct Certificates Ordinance.

(6) For the purpose of these regulations and in the course of any investigation made under article 7(1)(g) of the Act, the Commissioner shall have the power to summon witnesses and to administer an oath to any person concerned in the investigation and require them to give evidence.

(7) In the event that such person refuses to produce the requested information, the Commissioner may impose an administrative fine not exceeding five hundred euro (€500) and an additional penalty of three euro (€3) for each day such refusal subsists.