Proceeds of Crime Act 1997

Summary

This is Bermuda's principal anti-money laundering and proceeds of crime statute. It establishes the legal framework for confiscating and civilly recovering the proceeds of drug trafficking and other criminal conduct, creates the core money laundering offences, and sets out the regulatory regime (including Ministerial and Authority directions, customer due diligence, and reporting) that applies to banks and other financial institutions.

• Confiscation and civil recovery: Courts may make confiscation orders against convicted defendants' realisable property, restraint and charging orders, and civil recovery orders (via property freezing orders, interim receiving orders and recovery orders) against property representing unlawful conduct, even without a conviction.
• Money laundering offences: Creates offences of concealing or transferring criminal property, assisting another to retain criminal property, and acquiring, possessing or using criminal property, plus tipping-off and prejudicing-an-investigation offences.
• Disclosure duties: Requires disclosure of knowledge or suspicion of money laundering (to the Financial Intelligence Agency) and prohibits tipping off a person under investigation.
• Regulatory directions and AML/ATF regime: Empowers the Minister/Authority to issue directions to AML/ATF regulated financial institutions requiring customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, systematic reporting, and, where necessary, limiting or ceasing business; non-compliance with a direction is an offence.
• Information gathering powers: Provides for production orders, search warrants, monitoring orders and customer information orders to support confiscation and money laundering investigations, with offences for failure to comply.
• Specified financial activities: Schedule 3 lists the financial activities (deposit-taking, lending, money/value transfer, payment services, securities dealing, portfolio management, safekeeping, insurance underwriting, currency exchange, etc.) that bring a person within the definition of an AML/ATF regulated financial institution, subject to listed exceptions (e.g. intra-group transactions, certain insurance ancillary business, real estate deposit-taking).

The Act applies to property whether or not situated in Bermuda and binds banking institutions and other entities carrying on the specified financial activities in Schedule 3, as well as any person who deals in criminal or recoverable property or who is subject to an investigation, direction, or court order under the Act.

Key obligations

• Persons who know or suspect money laundering must disclose that knowledge or suspicion (to the Financial Intelligence Agency) as required under the money laundering disclosure provisions.
• Persons must not tip off another person that a disclosure, investigation or order concerning money laundering has been or may be made.
• AML/ATF regulated financial institutions subject to a Ministerial or Authority direction must carry out customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring and systematic reporting as specified in the direction.
• Financial institutions and other persons must comply with production orders, monitoring orders and customer information orders issued in connection with confiscation, civil recovery or money laundering investigations.
• Institutions or persons subject to a direction limiting or ceasing business must comply with that direction unless exempted by licence.
• Respondents and third parties must comply with duties imposed under interim receiving orders and property freezing orders, including restrictions on dealing with the property concerned.
• Defendants subject to confiscation proceedings must provide statements and information regarding their property and proceeds of criminal conduct as required by the court.

Applies to

banking institutions, AML/ATF regulated financial institutions, persons carrying on specified financial activities (Schedule 3), defendants/respondents in confiscation or civil recovery proceedings, persons subject to interim receiving orders, property freezing orders or restraint/charging orders

Related documents

• CP - Monetary Lending Activities (2018-02) amends this document
• Digital Asset Business Act 2018 amends this document
• Anti-Terrorism (Financial and Other Measures) Act 2004 amends this document
• Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing) Amendment Regulations 2026 is made under this document
• Money Service Business Act 2016 amends this document
• Proceeds of Crime (Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008 is made under this document
• Proceeds of Crime (Designated Countries and Territories) Order 1998 is made under this document
• Guidance Notes for AML/ATF Regulated Financial Institutions on Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing 2023 (Bermuda Monetary Authority) Notice 2023 is made under this document
• Guidance Notes for AML/ATF Regulated Financial Institutions on Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing 2023 (BMA) is made under this document