Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator

Head of Operation Kingfish, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Glenmore Hinds, yesterday hailed the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Bill in the Senate, noting that the legislation would assist the police in targeting the major organised criminal networks in Jamaica.

He told The Gleaner that where there was evidence that property had been acquired from the proceeds of crime, the law enforcement agencies would be "leveraging the powers that the legislation gives us as it relates to taking the proceeds out of crime."

After the killing of Jamaica's most wanted man, Donovan 'Bulby' Bennett, in late 2005, the police revealed that the former leader of the Spanish Town-based Clansman gang was the owner of five houses - two in St. Catherine, two in Clarendon and one in Canada. It was also revealed that his $100 million empire included 85 motor vehicles.

ACP Hinds said yesterday that investigations were continuing into the matter and the authorities were "working against the property in terms of tax assessments".

Further inroads

He said, however, that with the passage of the bill, the police would be making efforts to forfeit the assets of Bennett. "If there are provisions that will allow us to make even further inroads, certainly we will be more than willing to apply these provisions."

After two days of rigorous debate, the Senate yesterday passed the landmark bill which has at its aim the removing of profit from criminal activity.

The proposed law, which was subject to extensive review by a joint select committee of Parliament over a one-year period, will now provide an effective mechanism for forfeiting the proceeds of crime and also for preventing money laundering.

A.J. Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, said the new forfeiture regime encompassed both criminal forfeiture proceedings after a conviction, and civil forfeiture proceedings in the absence of a criminal conviction.

He pointed out that the court could order the forfeiture of any property, which was obtained through unlawful conduct, but no one had to be convicted or even charged with an offence.

Yesterday's debate on the bill was not without controversy as Mr. Nicholson criticised Opposition Senator Dr. Christopher Tufton's remarks about money laundering.

Senator Nicholson said it was not appropriate to suggest that political parties were involved in money laundering.

"It is not nice with respect to sending innuendoes out there in the public that a political party that is in government and others (are) mixed up in money laundering," said Nicholson.

Suspicious transaction

He was responding to Dr. Tufton's concerns as to whether the transfer of $31 million to a PNP-linked account last year had been subjected to the reporting requirements under the Money Laundering Act, as it could have been deemed a suspicious transaction.

Tufton had said: "I think it would be an important thing to do, primarily because it is a case where a political party is involved - a political party that is in government - and you want to achieve a situation where there is transparency and appropriate accountability so that the people can have confidence in the law to work."

But the Justice Minister chided his Opposition colleague for his comments, noting that those pronouncements should not have been made in "this honourable House" but should have been confined to another forum.

"We on this side know where to say things; you don't carry certain things in the Senate," he insisted.

Commenting further on the bill, which was passed without amendment, Senator Nicholson said his greatest fear in the implementation of the proposed law targeting major criminals was what he described as "tipping off".

"I foresee that this is going to be a giant stumbling block in the way of the security forces as they pursue the assets of the kingpin," said Nicholson.

He said while banks carried out their task diligently, they could not prevent information from being leaked to persons who were not legally authorised to access such information.