US lawyer’s $17m criminal cash to benefit Jersey projects

Friday 20 December 2019

Around £13m of ‘tainted’ funds held on behalf of a now-deceased US lawyer with links to high-profile 1980s organised crime circles is to be invested in Jersey charities and projects.

The cash boost is the first major success of the “radical” new Forfeiture of Assets Law, which came into force in August 2018.

Under the legislation, authorities can fast track the seizure of assets suspected to be linked with crime if they have been subject to a Police ‘no consent’ order for more than 12 months. 

The Law Officers’ Department (LOD) said a number of successful applications have been made since the law’s introduction, but the “most significant” came recently.

Pictured: Attorney General, Robert Macrae.

Following the conclusion of proceedings related to the ‘Truk Settlement’, $16.8m (just under £13m) was seized. 

$10m (65%) will now be paid into the Criminal Offences Confiscation Fund – a money pot used for projects linked to crime prevention and rehabilitation of offenders – while the rest will be distributed among local charities.

Law Officers said the Truk Settlement’s funds were linked with crime in the USA in the 1980s. 

The origins of the wealth in the settlement were initially unclear, leading a report to be commissioned to identify them. 

It was later revealed that they originated from the now-defunct Liechtenstein-based Abordo Foundation in the 1980s.

Pictured: The forfeiture was dealt with in the Royal Court.

Its beneficiary was a now-deceased lawyer at the US firm Miller, Cassidy, Larocca and Lewin, who had a client relationship with a high-ranking member of the Teamsters Union, which was convicted of conspiracy to bribe in the 1980s.

Once these links emerged, the States of Jersey Police’s Joint Financial Crimes Unit referred the matter to the LOD’s Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit, who commenced proceedings under the Forfeiture Law. 

The matter was dealt with in the Royal Court, who have now ordered that all the assets in the Truk Settlement – totalling $16,828,956.98 – should be divided between the Criminal Offences Confiscation Fund and local charities.

Attorney General Robert MacRae QC, commented: “I welcome the successful outcome of this investigation run by the Law Officers’ Department’s Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit, in cooperation with the States of Jersey Police’s Joint Financial Crimes Unit.

“The Forfeiture Law is a valuable tool allowing the forfeiture of tainted funds in civil proceedings when criminal prosecution is not possible.”