A forfeiture order in respect of a total of €18,070 has been granted by the Supreme Court following an application made by officers of the RGP’s Money Laundering Investigation Unit under section 130(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2015.

The matter dated back to December 2016, when two local men, now aged 26 and 21 years of age, were stopped by HM Customs officers as they entered Gibraltar via the land frontier. On being searched they were found with €9,070 and €9,000. Unsatisfied with the accounts provided by the two individuals, officers of the RGP’s Money Laundering Investigation Unit were contacted.

Initial enquiries carried out by officers, qualified and accredited as Financial Investigators through the National Crime Agency, led them to suspect that the monies might be the proceeds of crime and therefore recoverable property under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The monies were seized and a Proceeds of Crime investigation initiated.

The matter was heard in absentia by Puisne Judge Karen Ramagge Prescott in civil proceedings in the Supreme Court on Monday [7th May] as the respondents, who were not compelled to be present, failed to turn up for the hearing. After hearing evidence provided by the officers regarding the nature of the enquiries carried out during the course of their investigation and their findings, the Judge ruled that the monies, which until now had been kept in an interest bearing account by the Treasury Department, were derived from Criminal Conduct and ordered the forfeiture of the monies.

This case exemplifies the efforts being made by local Law Enforcement Agencies, not just in the prevention and detection of crime, but also in ensuring that individuals are unable to continue enjoying the proceeds derived from Criminal Conduct.