Drug Trafficking Offences (Amendment) Act, 2021

Summary

This Act amends the BVI Drug Trafficking Offences Act, 1992, primarily to replace the now-abolished Steering Committee and, in most instances, individual police officers with the Financial Investigation Agency (the Agency) as the body responsible for receiving, investigating and disclosing information related to drug trafficking and drug money laundering. It also updates confiscation-order terminology and clarifies cash seizure powers.

• Reporting channel changed: A new section 32A designates the Financial Investigation Agency as the authority to which suspicious transaction reports and other disclosures relating to drug money laundering must be made, instead of a police officer or the Steering Committee.
• Joint investigation duty: New section 4A requires a police officer or the Agency, when investigating a drug trafficking offence, to also investigate any related drug money laundering offence where reasonable to do so.
• Steering Committee abolished: References to the Steering Committee are deleted throughout sections 2, 33, 34, 35 and 37, with the Agency taking on its functions.
• Disclosure powers updated: Sections 33 and 34 are amended to let the Agency disclose information received under those sections to law enforcement agencies in the Territory or abroad for specified purposes.
• Confiscation order terminology: Sections 38 and 39 replace 'designated country' with 'requesting country' in relation to external confiscation orders.
• Cash seizure clarified: Section 48 is amended so police or customs officers may seize or detain cash found in the Territory, or imported/exported cash of not less than $10,000, where they reasonably suspect it relates to drug trafficking or drug money laundering.
• Court order powers: Section 9 is amended to allow a court to vary an order it has made and to clarify admissibility of certain information given under that section.

The Act does not itself take effect on a fixed date: it commences on a date the Governor appoints by Proclamation published in the Gazette. No such Proclamation date is stated in this text.

Key obligations

• Any person obliged under the Act or another enactment to make a suspicious transaction report or other disclosure relating to drug money laundering must make that report to the Financial Investigation Agency rather than a police officer or the Steering Committee
• A police officer or the Agency investigating a drug trafficking offence must, where reasonable given the nature and circumstances, also investigate any related drug money laundering offence
• A police officer or customs officer may seize or detain cash found in the Territory, or cash of not less than $10,000 being imported into or exported from the Territory, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect it relates to drug trafficking or drug money laundering

Applies to

persons subject to suspicious transaction reporting obligations under drug money laundering law, police officers, customs officers, the Financial Investigation Agency, law enforcement agencies

Deadlines

• on such date as the Governor may, by Proclamation published in the Gazette, appoint: Commencement of the Drug Trafficking Offences (Amendment) Act, 2021

Related documents

• This document amends Drug Trafficking Offences Act (Revised Edition 2020)