A – Michel (2010) (third party laundering)

1. Peter Wilson Michel was convicted in 2007 of 9 counts of money laundering contrary to Article 32(1) of the Proceeds of Crime Law. A confiscation order was made for £9.7 million.

2. An appeal against this conviction was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, on one ground, unrelated to the statutory regime, but the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council upheld the appeal on one ground and recommended that Her Majesty quash the conviction and remit the case to the Court of Appeal to consider a retrial.

3. A retrial was ordered and a fresh 9 count indictment was brought. However, Mr Michel pleaded guilty in 2010 to 7 of the 9 counts of assisting another to retain the benefit of criminal conduct contrary to Article 32(1) of the Proceeds of Crime Law. The remaining counts were not pursued by the Crown.

4. Sentence: 4 years imprisonment in respect of each count, concurrent.

5. A confiscation order was made for £6,528,707.

6. Mr Michel was disqualified from acting as a company director for 6 years (pursuant to Article 78 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (the “Companies Law”)). A link to the Companies Law may be found at Appendix III (item C.).

 

B – Bhojwani (2010 – self laundering)

1. The defendant, an Indian national, made a criminal fortune of almost US$40 million selling vehicles to the Nigerian Government under two separate contracts in 1996 and 1997 through a Panamanian shelf company.

2. The defendant kept his own proceeds of this crime at Bank of India Jersey from 1997 until 20 October 2000, when the Financial Times ran a major exposé on Nigerian government corruption under President Abacha in which it revealed that the Swiss authorities had launched a money laundering investigation and had identified coded Swiss accounts into which the defendant knew he had paid millions in bribes in 1996.

3. The FT reported that some offshore jurisdictions were leading the way in combating money laundering, and that Jersey had frozen an account it had identified on its own initiative. That news was repeated on the front page of that day’s edition of the Jersey Evening Post.

4. In response to the news of the money laundering investigations, the next working day, Monday 23  October, the defendant committed the first of three money laundering offences by converting the balances of the bank accounts at Bank of India Jersey into freely negotiable bankers’ drafts in a total sum of $43.9 million. He then committed the second money laundering offence by having the drafts couriered out of Jersey.  The drafts remained out of the banking system until 2 November when the defendant committed the third money laundering offence by converting the drafts by paying them into the accounts at Bank of India Jersey of three different front companies owned by him.

5. Each conversion and the removal was done with the purpose of avoiding a Jersey prosecution and/or a Jersey confiscation order.

6. Offences:

1. Converting the proceeds of criminal conduct, contrary to Article 34(1)(b) of the Proceeds of Crime Law (Counts 1 and 3)

1. Removing the proceeds of criminal conduct from the jurisdiction of Jersey, contrary to Article 34(1)(b) of the Proceeds of Crime Law (Count 2)

7. Sentence: 6 years imprisonment on each count concurrent. £22,559,560.33 was returned by Jersey to the Nigerian authorities, with the agreement of the Nigerian government, from the funds confiscated from Mr Bhojwani.

 

C – McFeat, Smyth and Howard (2013 – third party laundering)

1. Between 2010 and 2012, a conspiracy existed between various parties, including Liam Norris, to import commercial quantities of cannabis resin into Jersey from the UK.
2. McFeat, Smyth and Howard entered into an arrangement whereby they assisted Norris to retain the proceeds of drug trafficking by exchanging Sterling into Euros and loading money onto pre-paid travel cards. The monies were then withdrawn in Staffordshire (UK) and Spain.

3. Over the relevant period, McFeat exchanged over £74,000 into Euros and Smyth and Howard exchanged in excess of £20,000 and £27,000 respectively into Euros.

4. McFeat also loaded over £5,000 onto a pre-paid card in his name whilst Smyth and Howard loaded over £13,000 and £17,000 respectively onto pre-paid cards in their names.

5. Offences:

1. McFeat: Assisting another to retain the benefit of drug trafficking contrary to Article 37 of the Drug Trafficking Offences Law (1 count)
2. Smyth: Assisting another to retain the benefit of drug trafficking contrary to Article 37 of the Drug Trafficking Offences Law (1 count)
3. Howard: Assisting another to retain the benefit of drug trafficking contrary to Article 37 of the Drug Trafficking Offences Law (1 count)

6. Sentence:

1. McFeat – 18 months imprisonment

1. Smyth – 12 months imprisonment

1. Howard – 180 hours community service

 

D – Ellis (2013 – third party laundering)

1. Julie Sharon Ellis, between 1 May 2010 and 29 August 2012, in the Island of Jersey, entered into or was otherwise concerned in an arrangement whereby
   1. the retention or control by or on behalf of Liam Norris (her son), of the said Liam Norris’ proceeds of drug trafficking was facilitated, knowing or suspecting that the said Liam Norris carried on or had carried on drug trafficking or had benefited from drug trafficking.
2. Ellis changed £25,133 from sterling into euros at various post offices and co-operatives in Jersey.

3. Offence:

1. Assisting another to retain the benefit of drug trafficking, contrary to Article 37 of the Drug Trafficking Offences Law (1 count)

4. Sentence:  Ellis was convicted and is due to be sentenced on 19 November 2013

 

E – Teresa Fatima Goncalves Figueira – Figueira (2013 – third party laundering) 

1. Between 28 July 2005 and 25 November 2005 (count 1), and between 20 September 2005 and 31 October 2005 (count 2), in the Island of Jersey, entered into or was otherwise concerned in an arrangement whereby the retention or control by or on behalf of a person or persons unknown, of the said person or persons unknown  proceeds of drug trafficking was facilitated, knowing or suspecting that the said person or persons unknown carried on drug trafficking or had benefited from drug trafficking.

1. Count 1 related to eight payments made in the relevant period totalling £14,900 which Figueira sent from different Post Offices to Portugal.
2. Count 2 related to unexplained deposits in Figueira’s bank account in the relevant period totalling £5,150. The total amount laundered by Figueira was £20,050.
3. Sentence: Figueira pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced on 8 November 2013.

5. Sentence: Figueira pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced on 8 November 2013.

6. Offence:

1. Figueira (2013 – third party laundering) Assisting another to retain the benefit of drug trafficking, contrary to Article 37 of the Drug Trafficking Offences Law (2 counts)

 

F – Gichuru and Okemo and Windward Trading Limited, a Jersey registered company

1. Former Nambale MP Chris Okemo and former Kenya Power boss Samuel Gichuru are currently the subject of extradition proceedings.
2. They are wanted in the Island of Jersey for allegedly laundering sh900 million and also face fraud and abuse of office charges.
3. On 24 February 2016, Windward Trading Limited, a Jersey registered company, pleaded guilty to four counts of money laundering before the Royal Court of Jersey.
4. The Royal Court imposed a confiscation order of £3,281,897.40 and US$540,330.69, thereby stripping the company of all its assets.

http://bit.ly/1pcOJxx

Others

H – Michel (2011)

 Perverting the Course of Justice (1 count) Between 1st July 2001 and 31st October 2009

1. Justin Peter Michel attempted to pervert the course of public justice, namely the investigation of the assets of his father Peter Wilson Michel, the applications for a saisie judiciaire over those assets, and the confiscation of Peter Wilson Michel’s proceeds of criminal conduct, by performing acts which had a tendency to pervert the said course of justice, namely
   1. (i) accepting from Peter Wilson Michel the transfer to him of assets which were subject to the investigation;
   2. (ii) falsely representing to HM Attorney General that the transfers to himself were payment for legal services which he had provided to Peter Wilson Michel;
   3. (iii) falsely representing to HM Attorney General that transfers to himself of shares in certain companies were payment for services provided by him in respect of those companies.
2. Sentence: 15 months (the defendant was also struck off as a Jersey Advocate).

 

I – Warren

1. On 5 November 2013, The Royal Court of Jersey ordered Curtis Warren to pay a confiscation order of £198 million in respect of his benefit from a career of international drug trafficking that started in 1991.

2. The confiscation order was made primarily on the basis that Warren has successfully trafficked cocaine from South America to Europe on many occasions.

3. The prosecution were able to show that Warren laundered £10-15 million per week as a result of his cocaine business in ways that left his profits untraceable and hidden around the world.

4. The prosecution was able to show that Warren had taken advantage of companies to hide his wealth and reinvest some of it in property and other investments.

5. The confiscation order is the result of a complex and difficult financial enquiry and is believed to be the biggest confiscation order in the British Isles.