Public consultation on anti-corruption sports law launched

The public consulation on the proposed anti-corruption bill was launched on Wednesday morning by Dr Clifton Grima, the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations in the presence of Dr Angelo Chetcuti, the General Secretary of the Malta Football Association. The public consultation period spans six weeks after which the law will be presented to Parliament. The drafted bill follows months of discussions by the members of the Anti-Corruption Task Force which was set up by the Malta FA in 2015 with the aim of stepping up the fight against any form of corruption in sports. Based on the conclusions of the Anti-Corruption Task Force, which comprises representatives of the government, opposition, the Malta FA, police, SportMalta and the Malta Gaming Authority, the drafted bill is proposing the following: Provide a new definition to ‘sports corruption’ which includes the new dimension of the offence Widen the jurisdiction for prosecution of offenders Increase prison time and fines for offenders, particularly persons who are involved in sports organisations, gaming companies and public authorities Introduce the concept of ‘inside information’ in the definition of sports corruption Ban persons convicted of sports corruption offence from attending sports events in Malta. Both Dr Grima and Dr Chetcuti thanked the members of the Anti-Corruption Task Force for their sterling work, adding that the launch of the public consultation represents a very important step in the whole process. “Sport is a sector that groups different strata of society and its integrity is crucial for it to keep growing in our country,” Dr Grima said. Dr Grima said that, following the expiry of the public consultation period, the Anti-Corruption Task Force will convene again and subsequently the bill will be presented to Parliament after the summer recess. Dr Chris Bonett, senior consultant to Dr Grima at the Parliamentary Secretariat for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations, was also present for the press conference. The public consultation document, entitled ‘Protecting the integrity of Maltese sport’, can be downloaded from the website http://www.edu.gov.mt/cleansport. The suggestions/proposals are to be submitted by 4th October, 2017.