Act
Criminal Justice (Fraud Investigation) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1991 (Consolidated text)
In forceConsolidated text incorporating amendments up to the Director of Income Tax (Transfer of Functions) (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2018.
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Summary
This is the consolidated text of a Bailiwick of Guernsey law that grants Her Majesty's Procureur (the Attorney General equivalent) special powers to investigate suspected serious or complex fraud. It allows compulsory questioning and document production, creates search warrant procedures, overrides certain statutory secrecy obligations for information sharing with law enforcement and regulators, and criminalises obstruction, false statements, document destruction and tipping off about an investigation.
- Investigation powers: Her Majesty's Procureur may require any person under investigation, or anyone believed to hold relevant information, to attend and answer questions or produce specified documents relating to a suspected serious or complex fraud.
- Search warrants: Where a person fails to produce documents, or service of a notice is impracticable or would prejudice the investigation, the Bailiff may issue a warrant authorising police to enter premises, search, and seize or preserve documents.
- Limited privilege protection: Legal professional privilege protects against disclosure of privileged information or documents, but a lawyer may still be required to provide a client's name and address; banking or fiduciary confidentiality can be overridden with client consent or Procureur authorisation.
- Disclosure and information sharing: Statutory secrecy obligations do not prevent disclosure of information to a person authorised by the Procureur, and information obtained may be shared with competent authorities, including bodies with supervisory, regulatory or disciplinary functions over financial services, professions or commercial activity, in the Bailiwick or elsewhere.
- Tipping off offence: It is an offence to disclose information likely to prejudice a known or suspected fraud investigation under this Law, subject to limited defences for legal advisers and lack of knowledge or suspicion.
- Offences for non-compliance: Failing without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement, making false or misleading statements in purported compliance, or destroying or concealing relevant documents once an investigation is known or suspected, are criminal offences with penalties up to seven years' imprisonment on indictment.
The Law applies generally to persons and entities in the Bailiwick of Guernsey who may be subject to a fraud investigation or hold relevant information or documents, including banks, fiduciary businesses, lawyers, companies and their officers, and financial services or other regulatory bodies that may receive shared information as competent authorities.
Key obligations
- A person served with a notice under section 1(2) must attend at the specified time and place and answer questions or furnish information relevant to the investigation.
- A person served with a notice under section 1(3) must produce specified documents, or state to the best of their knowledge where such documents are, if not produced.
- A lawyer asked for a client's name and address in connection with an investigation must provide it even where other information is privileged.
- A person subject to a banking or fiduciary confidentiality obligation must not disclose or produce protected information or documents unless the person owed the obligation consents or the Procureur authorises the disclosure.
- A person must not knowingly or recklessly make a false or misleading statement in purported compliance with a requirement under section 1.
- A person who knows or suspects a fraud investigation is or may be underway must not falsify, conceal, destroy or dispose of documents relevant to that investigation.
- A person must not disclose information or matters likely to prejudice a known or suspected investigation under this Law (tipping off), subject to limited legal adviser exceptions.
Applies to
persons under investigation for suspected serious or complex fraud, banks, fiduciary businesses, legal advisers, companies and their officers, financial services or other regulatory, supervisory or disciplinary bodies (as competent authorities)