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2023-06-21

Moneylenders (Amendment) Act No. 18 of 2023

The Belize legislature enacted the Moneylenders (Amendment) Act No. 18 of 2023 to align the Moneylenders Act with Financial Action Task Force recommendations and enhance the Central Bank's supervisory effectiveness. The legislation introduces a statutory definition for "decision notice" and inserts a new section 27H empowering the Registrar to publish information regarding enforcement actions such as license restrictions, revocations, and administrative sanctions. These publications are subject to procedural safeguards requiring prior notification to the concerned party and are suspended pending any appeals under section 31F.

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BELIZE: MONEYLENDERS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2023 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

  1. Short title.
  2. Amendment of section 2.
  3. Insertion of new section 27H. Moneylenders

No. 18] Moneylenders 383 AN ACT to amend the Moneylenders Act, Chapter 260 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2020, to satisfy the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations; to increase the Central Bank’s effectiveness in supervising moneylenders by enabling publication of enforcement actions; and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. (Gazetted 21st June, 2023). BE IT ENACTED, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives and Senate of Belize and by the authority of the same, as follows:

  1. This Act may be cited as the MONEYLENDERS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2023, Short title. No. 18 of 2023 I assent, (H.E. DAME FROYLA TZALAM) Governor-General 19th June, 2023.

and shall be read and construed as one with the Moneylenders Act, which is hereinafter referred to as the principal Act. 2. The principal Act is amended in section 2 by inserting the following term and its corresponding definition it its proper alphabetical sequence– ““decision notice” means a notice that advises on the outcome of a decision taken by the Registrar in accordance with the legal requirements of the Act;”. 3. The principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after section 27G, the following new section– 27H.–(1) Subject to section 27G, the Registrar may publish such information about a matter to which a decision notice relates as it considers appropriate. (2) For the purposes of this section, a decision notice means a notice that advises on the outcome of a decision taken by the Registrar which includes but is not limited to– (a) restricting a license; (b) revoking a license under section 10; (c) imposing an administrative sanction; and (d) publishing a statement in respect of contraventions of any requirement under this Act. (3) The Registrar shall not publish a decision notice– 384 Moneylenders [No. 18 CAP. 260. Amendment of section 2. Insertion of new section 27H. “Publication of sanctions.

(a) before notifying the person concerned; and

(b) pending an appeal under section 31F.”. No. 18] Moneylenders 385 Printed in Belize by the Government Printer #1 Power Lane, Belmopan

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