Retracted confession may support foreign exchange liability when voluntary admission is independently corroborated by documentary and circumstantial evidence.

A retracted confession can sustain liability where it is voluntary, found to be true, and materially corroborated by independent evidence. The tribunal found the appellant's admission of receiving foreign-sourced funds locally to be voluntary and supported by a letter recovered from her husband in Muscat and by surrounding circumstances. It rejected the later retraction as an afterthought and held that corroborative documentary and circumstantial material was sufficient to support the contravention under section 9(1)(b) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973. The penalty was upheld and the challenge to the adjudication order failed.

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Issues: Whether the penalty for contravention of section 9(1)(b) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 was sustainable on the basis of the appellant's retracted confession supported by corroborative documentary and circumstantial evidence.

Analysis: The appellant's statement admitting receipt of foreign-sourced funds locally was found to be voluntary and was corroborated by the recovered letter written by her husband from Muscat and by the surrounding circumstances. The later retraction was held to be an afterthought. A retracted confession can be relied upon when it is found to be true and receives material corroboration.

Conclusion: The penalty was upheld and the challenge to the adjudication order failed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was dismissed and the adjudication penalty was confirmed.

Ratio Decidendi: A retracted confession may form the basis of liability if it is voluntary, found to be true, and materially corroborated by independent evidence.

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