This page provides information about:
- court proceedings
- investigations
- referrals made by us to the police or prosecuting authorities
Court proceedings
When a political party or regulated donee refuses to pay a fine or to forfeit voluntarily a donation we may decide to pursue the action through courts.
Click here to read more about civil penalties.
Investigations
Procedures
Where we decide to investigate a matter, regardless of the type of offence involved, we do so according to established internal procedures. These are kept under review to ensure consistency with good practice in relation to the planning and conduct of investigations.
All investigations will be conducted by appropriately trained and experienced staff, under the supervision of the Director of Party and Election Finance.
Timescales
The time taken to complete an investigation varies on a case by case basis. Where there is a great deal of evidence to collect and assess, or where the allegation relates to a particularly complex area of the law, the investigation is likely to take longer.
We recognises that it is important to conclude investigations as quickly as possible, in the public interest and in the interests of natural justice for those involved. However, our first priority is always to conduct a fair and thorough investigation, and this will always take priority over speed where the two conflict.
We aim to complete all investigations as quickly as possible, and our performance target is to complete 90% of our investigations within four months from the date the decision was made to refer the matter for investigation.
Informing those involved
We will always notify the complainant and the subject(s) of any investigation as soon as the decision is taken to investigate. During the investigation, we will put the allegations to the subject(s) in detail and ensure that they have the opportunity to respond to them.
How evidence is obtained
We will normally seek documentary evidence, by requesting relevant material from those who appear to be in possession of it, and oral evidence through interviews.
We may require a regulated body to make any documents they hold available to us (including electronic documents). We also have the power to enter premises to obtain such information.
However, we do not have any statutory power to obtain documents or information from bodies that are not regulated under PPERA, or to compel anyone to attend interview. Interviews are therefore conducted by consent, and there are circumstances where we may need to refer matters to the police because of the limits of our powers to obtain information.
Interviews
We will normally record interviews, in order to produce either a transcript or an accurate statement. Where an allegation relates to a potential criminal offence some interviews may be conducted under caution.
Outcomes
Once an investigation is complete, we will decide what action to take, having taken any appropriate legal advice.
Disclosure of information
We will normally confirm if asked when an investigation is underway, the identity of the individual or organisation involved, and the general scope of the investigation.
Our general practice is not to disclose any material obtained during an investigation either during or after the investigation. This is because it is essential that those who provide evidence to investigations are able to do so in confidence. Such disclosure may prejudice any ensuing proceedings, and may undermine investigations by discouraging cooperation with those investigations.
We will normally make a public statement at the conclusion of our investigations, setting out the decision and the reasons for that decision. An exception to this is where we refer a matter to the police or prosecuting authority. In such cases we will normally make only the decision public, as to provide further explanation might risk prejudicing the outcome of any subsequent proceedings.
We are subject to, and are committed to complying fully with, the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Although we have an office in Scotland, we are a UK body and are therefore subject to the UK Act, not the Scottish Act.
We believe that our position on disclosure is consistent with the provisions of sections 30 and 31 of the Act. We will, however, review our position on disclosure of specific information upon request.
Click here to read more about how to make an allegation.
