Four Jersey trusts, funded by bribe monies transferred from Switzerland, owned and controlled underlying companies that held Jersey bank accounts which were used to buy property in the United Kingdom.
The Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit (ECCU) of the Law Officers’ Department was able to demonstrate the money used to buy those properties came from payments received abroad as bribes, first deposited in Switzerland.
The bribes had been made by Brazilian, Greek, German and Norwegian companies to secure contracts for ship-building and other shipping services.
They were uncovered as part of a large-scale anti-corruption investigation in Brazil, known as Operação Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash).
Since the forfeiture was granted by the Royal Court, the attorney general is set to liaise with the Brazilian authorities to return the funds to Brazil, less the costs borne by the Law Officers’ Department in recovering the funds.
Jersey Attorney General Matthew Jowitt KC said: “This is further evidence that the 2018 Forfeiture Law is a vital tool in recovering the proceeds of corruption and restoring that money to victims of international financial crime.”
