STRENGTHENING OF GUERNSEY'S CIVIL FORFEITURE REGIME
Recent legislative changes have strengthened Guernsey's civil forfeiture regime.
An amendment to the Forfeiture of Money, etc in Civil Proceedings (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2007 came into force on 31st January 2023. The amendment means that in a case where law enforcement, having formed a suspicion on reasonable grounds, have refused to consent to a particular banking transaction, the owner of the relevant assets now has to prove (on balance) that they are not the proceeds of, or intended for use in, unlawful conduct. The change to the law has also introduced a more simplified process. Crown Advocate Will Giles, Head of the Economic Crime Unit in the Law Officers' Chambers, said "Taken together, these reforms represent an exciting step change in our ability to deal decisively with assets thought to be related to what will often turn out to originate from serious and high value wrongdoing in a variety of jurisdictions away from the Bailiwick of Guernsey. As a result we expect to see an increase in the number of cases before the courts in the months and years ahead."