£370,000 drug money seized from Colombian drug kingpin (“Don Efra”) Guernsey Trust.

Guernsey has confiscated £370,000 in criminal proceeds on behalf of Colombia in the Latin American country’s first successful international asset recovery case using its non-conviction-based forfeiture law.

A Colombian civil forfeiture investigation carried out by the Special Directorate for Extinction of Ownership (Special Directorate for Asset Forfeiture) revealed that Ms CAMACHO had received the proceeds of Don Efra's criminal conduct, specifically drug trafficking.

KEY FACTS

1. Ms. CAMACHO is the former wife of Efrain Antonio Hernandez-Ramirez (known as "Don Efra"). Don Efra, now deceased, was the leader of the "Cartel del Valle" during the 1990s.
2. Ms CAMACHO was convicted of unlawful enrichment in 2004 following criminal proceedings in Colombia.
3. After the conviction, funds, beneficially owned by Ms. CAMACHO, were located in Guernsey (in the name of "The Dasman Settlement").
4. Information was shared with the Colombian authorities, and the Special Directorate for Extinction of Ownership was able to utilise its powers under Colombia's civil forfeiture legislation to apply for and obtain an order from the Circuit Court in Bogota, forfeiting the Guernsey funds.
5. The forfeiture order was made on the basis that The Dasman Settlement funds were the proceeds of criminal conduct. Subsequently, this order was registered and enforced in Guernsey.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN COLOMBIA AND GUERNSEY AUTHORITIES

1. Due to international legal cooperation between Guernsey and Colombia authorities, on 17 September 2024, the Royal Court of Guernsey made an Act of Court ordering the forfeiture of £370,000, which was the proceeds of criminal conduct.
2. The money was held in trust with a Guernsey financial institution for the benefit of a Colombian national, Ms. Maria CAMACHO ("CAMACHO").
3. The Order followed an application by His Majesty's Comptroller (Solicitor General) to register and enforce an overseas forfeiture order (referred to as an overseas forfeiture order) made in Colombia in respect of the money.
4. The proceedings in Guernsey commenced following mutual legal assistance requests from the Office of the Attorney General in Colombia.
5. The requests initially sought the assistance of the Guernsey authorities to freeze the funds and then forfeit them by Guernsey law.
6. The forfeiture of the funds represents the first time the Colombian authorities have utilised their civil forfeiture powers regarding funds held overseas.
7. The case demonstrates the commitment of both jurisdictions to pursue and seize the proceeds of criminal conduct and to ensure that individuals do not benefit from criminal activities (irrespective of the age of the offences - some of which, in this case, took place over 30 years ago).
8. The seized funds have been paid into Guernsey's seized assets fund, and the authorities in Guernsey and Colombia will work together to conclude an asset-sharing arrangement.

Source

• https://www.guernseylawofficers.gg/article/202731/Collaboration-between-Colombia-and-Guernsey-Authorities-in-non-conviction-based-civil-forfeiture-proceedings-results-in-the-forfeiture-of-the-proceeds-of-drug-trafficking
• https://baselgovernance.org/news/colombia-guernsey-cooperation-leads-successful-non-conviction-based-forfeiture-illicit-assets
• Guernsey’s Law Officers of the Crown = https://www.guernseylawofficers.gg/article/202731/Collaboration-between-Colombia-and-Guernsey-Authorities-in-non-conviction-based-civil-forfeiture-proceedings-results-in-the-forfeiture-of-the-proceeds-of-drug-trafficking
• Colombia's Attorney General's Office. = http://www.fiscalia.gov.co/colombia/noticias/accion-articulada-de-las-fiscalias-de-colombia-y-de-la-isla-de-guernsay-permite-impactar-el-patrimonio-oculto-del-extinto-narcotraficante-alias-don-efra/?amp=1