Drug Trafficking (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2000

Summary

This is the consolidated text of the Drug Trafficking (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2000, Guernsey's principal statute for confiscating the proceeds of drug trafficking and criminalising drug money laundering. It gives the Royal Court powers to make confiscation, restraint and charging orders against drug traffickers, implements aspects of the Vienna Convention on international cooperation, and creates offences and disclosure duties aimed at anyone who deals with drug trafficking property, including businesses outside the financial services sector.

• Confiscation and restraint: Establishes Court powers to make confiscation orders against convicted drug traffickers, restraint and charging orders to preserve realisable property, and procedures for enforcing and reconsidering such orders, including where a defendant has absconded or died.
• International cooperation: Implements Vienna Convention obligations covering scheduled substances used to manufacture controlled drugs, offences on ships used for illicit trafficking, service of overseas process, provision of evidence, and enforcement of external confiscation and forfeiture orders.
• Money laundering offences: Creates offences of concealing or transferring drug trafficking property, assisting another to retain such property, acquiring/possessing/using such property, failure to disclose knowledge or suspicion of drug money laundering by non financial services businesses, and tipping off.
• Investigative powers: Provides for orders requiring production of material relevant to drug trafficking investigations, search authority, customer information orders and account monitoring orders, together with related offences for non compliance or destruction of relevant documents.
• Corporate liability: Extends offences under the Law to bodies corporate, partnerships and their officers where the offence was committed with their consent or connivance.

The Law applies broadly to any person, business or entity in the Bailiwick that handles, facilitates or investigates drug trafficking property, and specifically imposes disclosure duties on non financial services businesses as well as financial services and other relevant businesses. It has been amended numerous times since 2000 and this consolidated version incorporates those changes, but the consolidated text itself states it is not authoritative for legal purposes.

Key obligations

• Persons and businesses must not conceal, transfer, or assist in retaining property known or suspected to be drug trafficking proceeds (offences under sections 57 to 59)
• Non financial services businesses must disclose knowledge or suspicion of drug money laundering as required under section 60
• Persons must not tip off a suspect or third party about a drug trafficking investigation or disclosure made in connection with it (section 61)
• Persons served with a customer information order or account monitoring order must comply with its requirements or face offences under sections 67D and 67J
• Persons subject to an order under section 63 to make material available for a drug trafficking investigation must comply or face offences under section 63A
• Bodies corporate and partnerships and their officers may be held liable for offences under the Law committed with their consent or connivance (section 67O)

Applies to

financial services businesses, non financial services businesses, relevant businesses, bodies corporate and partnerships, individuals subject to drug trafficking investigations or orders

Related documents

• This document amends Misuse of Drugs (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1974
• Drug Trafficking (Bailiwick of Guernsey) (Designated Countries and Territories) Ordinance, 2000 is made under this document
• Machinery of Government (Transfer of Functions) (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2003 (Consolidated text) amends this document
• Drug Trafficking (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law (Enforcement of External Forfeiture Orders) Ordinance, 2000 is made under this document