Farewell freedom and goodbye bling for island's crooks

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28: Three fabulous cars are lined up at a secret location. There is a Lamborghini; a Bentley and a top of the range BMW.

Between them they have an estimated worth of around $625,000.

These aren’t the toys of a top international footballer or lottery winner. They have been seized by a UK police force under the 2002 Proceeds Of Crime Act (POCA).

The trio of gleaming cars have been purchased with money earned from crimes ranging from drug dealing, money laundering and prostitution.

A TV crew films as they are driven away to be sold and the money raised will go back into government coffers and some directly into community based projects.

Seized assets

A local boxing club for youngsters in a deprived inner city area of Birmingham, England’s second biggest city, is one of the projects that has benefitted from money seized from criminals.

In the 2010/11 financial year alone, an estimated $400 million will be recovered from those making their fortunes illegally in the UK.

And now Bermuda is set to follow with the Proceeds Of Crime Amendment Act 2011 allowing civil action against crooks without the need for a criminal conviction.

In other words, as in the UK, police only need to prove ‘on the balance of probability’ that money or goods have been obtained by illegal means.

Back in April, Roger Cox was sentenced to five years behind bars as a result of the biggest ever money laundering enterprise ever prosecuted here in Bermuda.

Police found $339,000 in cash hidden around Cox’s plush St George’s Waterfront home.

Another $369,640 was found in a bank deposit box. 

Rolex and Gucci watches and other high value items were found around the house. 

A court order confiscating $1.47 million of assets has been agreed.

If he fails to settle this debt within a year he faces another 10 years in jail.

The Cox case is a good result for the Bermuda Police Financial Crime Unit and investigators like Grant Tomkins.

Involving over four years’ work and analysis of thousands of documents, investigations like this don’t come cheap.

But they do send out the message to crooks that it’s not just a case of farewell freedom but also goodbye bling.

Criminals’ assets

According to police investigators, it is often the loss of their prized cars, houses, boats and jewellery that hits criminals hardest.

They accept there is a risk of being arrested and doing time in prison. What they don’t expect is the double whammy of having their ill gotten gains taken away as well. Now that
really does hurt.

This year’s Police Week is rightly pressing the importance of community policing and the service reaching out more to local people.

And what better way to reinforce this message than to channel as much money as possible from criminal asset recovery right back into community based
projects?

It’s community payback in its purest form and can make sure that some good comes out of the bad.

Take the young people’s boxing club mentioned which has been given
money to improve facilities.

And while we’re at it, how about a cheeky pro-active proceeds of crime campaign urging people to “Shop a Champagne Charlie”? 

After all, a community can only benefit when it decides to pass on concerns about someone living way above their means.

If the person has been left a generous legacy by a long lost aunt then they have nothing to worry about.

But if they are getting their dollars and bling through dealing drugs or money laundering then watch out. POCA’s about.

Maggie Fogarty is a Royal Television Society award winning TV producer and journalist currently living in Bermuda.