Investigation of financial crimes (FOI)

Request

A

How many cases of financial crime were investigated by the Joint Financial Crimes Unit in 2016, and the type of financial crime they relate to.

The same request for 2015

The same for 2014.

B

How many of these cases led to prosecutions, charges or convictions for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Where these are relevant details of the individuals or companies involved.

C

The total amount of money seized or recovered from these cases, and again what financial crime they relate to.

Response

A, B and C 

The types of cases investigated are broadly very similar each year and vary little on a yearly basis as most investigations extend past one year. Such investigations include money laundering order breaches, fraud, perjury and perverting the course of justice, larceny, money laundering, false pretences and conspiracy to defraud.

Since 2010 there has been a threefold increase in the number of cases formally investigated, and an increase of approximately 30% annually in the number of suspicious activity reports.

2014

A total of 35 operational investigations including 14 opened in the year. Convictions in the year included:

• one male for larceny, sentenced to four and a half years in prison
• one female for larceny, sentenced to one year in prison
• one male for misconduct in public office, sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay compensation and costs
• one female for larceny servant, sentenced to four years in prison
• confiscations totalling £17,000 and cash forfeitures totalling £43,000 (including drugs cases)
• 2,287 Suspicious Activity Reports received and processed by the Jersey Financial Crimes Unit’s (JFCU) Financial Intelligence Unit.

2015

A total of 34 operational investigations including 9 opened in the year. Convictions in the year included:

• one male for providing false and/or misleading statements, sentenced to 12 months in prison
• one male for fraud, money laundering, and false pretences, sentenced to two years in prison and then deportation
• one female for false pretence and perverting the course of justice, sentenced to ten months in prison
• confiscations totalling £146,000, and cash forfeitures totalling £116,000 (including drugs cases)
• 2,317 suspicious activity reports received and processed by the JFCU Financial Intelligence Unit

2016

A total of 34 operational investigations including seven opened in the year. Convictions in the year to date include:

• one female for larceny and money laundering, sentenced to one year in prison
• one female for money laundering (six years imprisonment), perverting the course of justice (one year imprisonment), tax offences (fined) and a confiscation order of over £200,000 was also ordered
• confiscations totalling £43,000, and cash forfeitures totalling £39,000
• an extrapolation to year end of 2,050 suspicious activity reports (based on first ten months)

Names of the individuals convicted have been withheld. Conviction information is classed as the sensitive personal data of the individual and as such is absolutely exempt from disclosure Under Article 25(2) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) law 2011.

Exemptions applied

Article 25 - Personal information

(1)     Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.