The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) (French: Commission indépendante contre la corruption) is the Anti-corruption agency of Mauritius. The ICAC is headed by the Director-General.

History and establishment

ICAC was established under the Prevention of Corruption Act 2002 (PoCA). It was created to replace the defunct Economic Crime Office (ECO) which was dismantled by the MSM-MMM government in December 2001.^[1] ICAC has 3 main functions;^[2]

• Investigation: enforcement of the laws against corruption.
• Prevention: elimination of opportunities for corruption from systems and procedures.
• Education: prevention of corruption through public education and support.

ICAC strategic objectives are to;^[2]

• Implement obligations in the SADC Protocol and the UN Convention against corruption as far as they relate to prevention by adapting corruption prevention strategies to suit the Mauritian environment;
• Promote integrity, accountability, sound management of public affairs and responsible behaviour at organisational and individual levels and prompt corruption prevention cultures in the public sector;
• Maintain a high public profile and "mind share" within the community by enhancing public confidence and trust in the public sector; and
• Promote and strengthen the development of mechanisms to prevent and detect corruption in public and private sector.

Controversies

In 2015, an arrest warrant issued for the director of public prosecutions sparked a debate about the impartiality of the government's anti-corruption campaign. A board member of the ICAC, handed in her resignation, claiming that the institution was in the process of going against the country's democratic principles, apparently implying that the commission was not acting independently.^[3] In 2006, ICAC initiated an investigation to dismantle a network of University of Mauritius lecturers moonlighting in other universities.^[4]