Judicial enlightenment key in criminal assets recovery efforts

The importance of judicial enlightenment in relation to the critical matter of the recovery of the proceeds of crime, can hardly be over stated.

This was the assertion made by His Lordship Mario Michel of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, as he addressed judges from across the Caribbean gathered at the Barbados Supreme Court, for a two-day Proceeds of Crime Symposium, organised and sponsored by the British High Commission.

Barbados’ Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs,
Adriel Brathwaite (right), in talks with His Lordship Mario Michel
of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, during the
Proceeds of Crime Judicial Symposium.

With support from the UK-funded Caribbean Criminal Asset Recovery Programme (CCARP), members of the judiciary from Barbados joined their colleagues from the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Guyana and Belize, to become more aware of how confiscation and asset recovery can work in the region and how domestic legislation can be applied in practice. The session was led by His Honour Judge Hopmeier, who takes the lead for proceeds of crime and asset recovery training for the Judicial College of England and Wales and it was also attended by Chief Justice of Barbados, Sir Marston Gibson.

While addressing members of the judiciary gathered for the Symposium, His Lordship Michel remarked that the illicit trade in narcotics and several of its affiliated criminal activities has yielded massive profits to the participants in these nefarious activities. When law enforcement agencies are able to detect, detain and prosecute these criminals, he said, the prison sentences that usually accompany their convictions, have served as a deterrent to them and to others involved in their trade.

“But as long as these criminals are yet able to retain their ill-gotten gains, sometimes comprising massive amounts of money and other valuable assets, there remains for them, a silver lining at the end of the dark cloud of conviction and incarceration, because they will in due course be able to enjoy the fruits of their ignoble labour or they will savour the vicarious satisfaction of their families and friends enjoying these fruits,” Michel suggested.

“So that even after the deployment of the entire arsenal of conventional weapons of detention, detection, prosecution, conviction and incarceration, the war against drugs still would not have been won, for as long as the criminals retain the proceeds of their crimes,” he added.

“This is what the Criminal Asset Recovery Programme aims to do.  This is where it comes in. This is where the Proceeds of Crime Acts of the various territories come in. And this is where the judicial enlightenment intended to be provided by this symposium comes in,” he told those gathered. (RSM)