CHAPTER XXXVI
Offences Relating to Coin and to Bank and Currency Notes
350. In this chapter -
“coin”means any coin issued or deemed to have been issued by the Central Bank of Seychelles under the Central Bank of Seychelles Act and includes any coin of a foreign Sovereign or State;
"counterfeit coin”means coin not genuine but resembling or apparently intended to resemble or pass for genuine coin; and includes genuine coin prepared or altered so as to pass for coin of a higher denomination;
"utter”includes “tender”and "pass”;
“stamp”means any stamp issued or to be issued hereafter by the government for the purpose of revenue and includes postage stamps.
351. Any person who makes or begins to make any counterfeit coin is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life.
352. Any person who -
(a) gilds or silvers any piece of metal of a fit size or figure to be coined, with intent that it shall be coined into counterfeit coin; or
(b) makes any piece of metal into a fit size or figure to facilitate the coining from it of any counterfeit coin, with intent that such counterfeit coin shall be made from it; or
(c) without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him -
(i) buys, sells, receives, pays or disposes of any counterfeit coin at a lower rate than it imports or is apparently intended to import, or offers to do any such thing; or
(ii) brings or receives into Seychelles any counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit; or
(iii) makes or mends, or begins or prepares to make or mend, or has in his possession, or disposes of any stamp or mould which is adapted to make the resemblance of both or either of the sides of any coin, or any part of either side thereof, knowing the same to be a stamp or mould or to be so adapted; or
(iv) makes or mends, or begins or prepares to make or mend, or has in his possession, or disposes of any tool, instrument or machine which is adapted and intended to be used for marking coin round the edges with marks or figures apparently resembling those on the edges of any coin, knowing the same to be so adapted and intended; or
(v) makes or mends, or begins or prepares to make or mend, or has in his possession, or disposes of any press for coinage, or any tool, instrument, or machine which is adapted for cutting round blanks out of gold, silver, or other metal, knowing such press, tool, instrument, or machine to have been used or to be intended to be used for making any counterfeit coin,
is guilty of a felony.
If the offence is committed with respect to current coin, he is liable to imprisonment for life.
If the offence is committed with respect to coin of a foreign Sovereign or State, he is liable to imprisonment for seven years.
353. Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him -
(a) makes, uses, or knowingly has in his custody or possession any paper intended to resemble and pass as a special paper such as is provided and used for making any bank note or currency note;
(b) makes, uses, or knowingly has in his custody or possession any frame, mould, or instrument for making such paper, or for producing in or on such paper any words, figures, letters, marks, lines, or devices peculiar to and used in or on any such paper;
(c) engraves or in anywise makes upon any plate, wood, stone, or other material, any words, figures, letters, marks, lines or devices, the print whereof resembles in whole or in part any words, figures, letters, marks, lines or devices peculiar to and used in or on any bank note or currency note,
(d) uses or knowingly has in his custody or possession any plate, wood, stone, or other material, upon which any such words, figures, letters, marks, lines or devices have been engraved or in anywise made as aforesaid;
(e) uses or knowingly has in his custody or possession any paper upon which any such words, figures, letters, marks, lines or devices have been printed or in anywise made as aforesaid,
is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.
354. Any person who deals with any current coin in such a manner as to diminish its weight with intent that when so dealt with it may pass as current coin, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.
355. Any person who melts down, breaks up, defaces by stamping thereon any name, word or mark, or uses otherwise than as currency any coin current for the time being in Seychelles is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for six months or to a fine of Rs. 1,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.
356. Any officer of the government or the manager of any bank who receives, during the performance of his duties, any coin which he has reasonable ground for believing to be counterfeit coin shall impound such coin and transmit it to the Central Bank of Seychelles which may cut, deface or destroy it with or without compensation, as it thinks fit, if in its opinion it is counterfeit. For the purposes of this section the decision of the Central Bank of Seychelles that a coin is counterfeit and that compensation shall be granted or withheld shall be final, and no person shall be entitled to claim and no proceedings or action shall be brought against the Central Bank of Seychelles, the government, the officer of the government concerned, the manager of the bank concerned or his bank in respect of ,any loss or damage suffered by reason of such impounding and cutting, defacing or destruction.
357. Any person who unlawfully has in his possession or disposes of any filings, or clippings of gold or silver, or any gold or silver in bullion, dust, solution, or any other state, obtained by dealing with current gold or silver coin in such a manner as to diminish its weight, knowing the same to have been so obtained, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.
358. Any person who utters any counterfeit coin, knowing it to he counterfeit, is guilty of a n-misdemeanour.
359. Any person who -
(a) utters any counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit and at the time of such uttering has in his possession any other counterfeit coin;
(b) utters any counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit, and either on the same day or on any of the ten days next ensuing, utters any other counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit; or
(c) receives, obtains, or has in his possession any counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit, with intent to utter it,
is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
360. (1) Any person who, with intent to defraud, utters as and for coin any metal or piece of metal is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for one year.
(2) Any person who, with intent to defraud, utters as and for coin lawfully current in Seychelles by virtue of any Order in Council, Act, proclamation or otherwise, any coin not so lawfully current is guilty ofamisdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year.
361. Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof whereof lies upon him, sells or offers or exposes for sale any article which bears a design in imitation of any currency or bank note or coin in current use in Seychelles or elsewhere is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for six months.
362. Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him, exports or puts on board of a vessel or vehicle of any kind for the purpose of being exported from Seychelles, any counterfeit coin whatever, knowing it to be counterfeit, is guilty of a misdemeanour.
363. (1) When any person is convicted of an offence under this or the preceding chapter, the court shall order the forfeiture to the Republic of any forged bank note or currency note or of any counterfeit coin or any stamp, mould, tool, instrument, machine, press, or any coin, bullion, or metal, or any article bearing adesign in imitation of any currency, bank note or coin used or employed in the commission of any such offence.
(2) If it shall be made to appear by information on oath before the judge, registrar, magistrate or Justice of the Peace that there is reasonable cause to believe that any person has in his custody or possession without lawful authority or excuse -
(a) any instrument or other article peculiarly adapted for the forgery of currency notes; or
(b) any article mentioned in section 353, of this Code,
the judge, registrar, magistrate, or Justice of the Peace within his district may grant a warrant to search for the same; and if the same shall be found on search, it shall be lawful to seize and remove it to be disposed of according to law.
Counterfeit Stamps
364. Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him -
(a) makes or mends, or begins or prepares to make or mend, or uses, or knowingly has in his possession, or disposes of any die, plate or instrument capable of making an impression resembling that made by any die, plate or instrument used for the purpose of making any stamp, whether impressed or adhesive, which is used for the purposes of the public revenue or of the Post Office Department in Seychelles or in any foreign country, or capable of producing in or on paper any words, figures, letters, marks, or lines resembling any words, figures, letters, marks or lines used in or on any paper specially provided by the proper authority for any such purpose; or
(b) knowingly has in his possession or disposes of any paper or other material which has on it the impression of any such die, plate or instrument, or any paper which has on it or in it any such words, figures, letters, marks or line as aforesaid; or
(c) fraudulently and with intent that use may be made of any such stamp as aforesaid, or of any part of it, removes the stamp from any material in any way whatever; or
(d) fraudulently and with intent that use may be made of any part of such stamp, mutilates the stamp; or
(e) fraudulently fixes or places upon any material or upon any such stamp or part of a stamp which has been in any way removed from any other material, or out of or from any other stamp; or
(f) fraudulently, and with intent that use may be made of any such stamp which has been already impressed upon or attached to any material, erases or otherwise removes, either really or apparently, from such material anything whatever written on it; or
(g) knowingly has in his possession or disposes of anything obtained or prepared by any such unlawful act as aforesaid; or
(h) fraudulently or with intent to cause loss to the government, uses for any purpose a stamp issued by government for the purpose of revenue which he knows to have been before used,
is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for seven years, and any die, plate, instrument, paper or other thing as aforesaid which is found in his possession shall be forfeited to the Republic.
365. Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him -
(a) makes, or begins or prepares to make, or uses for any postal purpose, or has in his possession, or disposes of any imitation or representation on paper or any other material, of any stamp used for denoting any rate of postage of Seychelles, or of any foreign country; or
(b) makes or mends, or begins or prepares to make or mend, or uses, or has in his possession, or disposes of any die, plate, instrument, or material for making any such imitation or representation,
is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for one year, or to a fine of Rs.650, and any stamps, and any or such things as aforesaid, which are found in his possession, shall he forfeited to the Republic.
For the purposes of this section a stamp purporting to denote a rate of postage of any country is to be taken to be a stamp used for postal purposes in that country until the contrary is shown.
