‘Not in public interest’ to continue money laundering officer case

The decision was taken after the case had been reviewed in line with the code of guidance under which prosecutors work.

They have taken the unusual step of explaining why the case against Mr Still was dropped on Tuesday.

He had faced two charges that arose out of his employment as a money laundering reporting officer for Investec Bank.

Director of criminal prosecutions, Crown Advocate Fiona Russell, said the charges were put as alternatives, and related to an alleged failure to report a transaction which Mr Still was legally obliged to do to the law enforcement authorities.

The alleged offences took place in 2017.

The code of guidance concerning the decisions to prosecute in Guernsey explains the general principles that are applied when making decisions to prosecute. In summary, prosecutions only start or continue when the case has passed both the evidential test (requiring prosecutors to be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to obtain a realistic prospect of conviction) and a public interest test (where certain public interest factors are basically considered to weigh in favour of prosecution).

‘The case was brought against Mr Still on the basis of the evidence against him, and, as with all prosecutions, the Law Officers applied the objective standards and tests set out in the code of guidance,’ said Advocate Russell.

‘It was considered that there was sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, and on the secondary and equally important “public interest” test, the case also clearly met the consistently applied standards within the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

‘However, paragraph 3.5 of the code makes it clear that prosecutors must keep the matter under review and take account of any relevant change in circumstances as the case progresses.

‘In this case, whilst the evidential test is still met, the prosecution consider that it is no longer in the public interest to pursue the charges further.

‘In accordance with the general principles of the code, the prosecution has therefore quite properly been discontinued.’

Guernsey Association of Compliance Officers spokesman, and a member of GACO’s sub-committee for MLROs, Advocate Robert Shepherd, said MLROs and nominated officers in Guernsey took their onerous responsibilities very seriously.

‘They operate at the front line in the fight against money-laundering and terrorist financing in safeguarding the reputation of the Bailiwick,’ he said.

‘GACO believes that there is an extremely high standard of anti-money laundering knowledge amongst its members and it is important that the Guernsey public support them in the discharge of their role.

‘We are pleased for Mike Still and his family that the charges have been dropped – it will be a welcome relief to him and his family as well as other MLROs in Guernsey.’

n The Guernsey Financial Services Commission said that it had no involvement in the case as it was a criminal matter as opposed to a regulatory one. Criminal matters are handled by the Financial Investigation Unit.