R v Creed

• Jurisdiction: Cayman Islands
• Judge: (Smellie, C.J.)
• Judgment Date: 14 November 2006
• Court: Grand Court (Cayman Islands)
• Date: 14 November 2006

Grand Court

(Smellie, C.J.)

R.

and

CREED

Ms. C.M. Richards, Solicitor General, for the Crown;

H.D. Murray and S. McField for the defendant.

Cases cited:

(1) R. v. Basra, [2002] 2 Cr. App. R. (S.) 469; [2003] EWCA Crim. 541, referred to.

(2) R. v. Bernard, [1997] 1 Cr. App. R. (S.) 135; [1996] Crim. L.R. 673, distinguished.

(3) R. v. Dennis, Grand Ct., Ind. 3 of 2001, unreported, considered.

(4) R. v. Fontes, [2006] 1 Cr. App. R. (S.) 401l; [2005] EWCA Crim. 2103, considered.

(5) R. v. Fraser, [2004] EWCA Crim. 2306, referred to.

(6) R. v. Gonzalez, [2003] 2 Cr. App. R. (S.) 35; [2002] EWCA Crim. 2658, referred to.

(7) R. v. GreenUNK(1992), 13 Cr. App. R. (S.) 613, considered.

(8) R. v. Lazeo, [2000] BCCA 551; [2000] Carswell BC 2256; (2000), 149 C.C.C. (3d) 547; 145 B.C.A.C. 263, considered.

(9) R. v. LeatherbarrowUNK(1992), 13 Cr. App. R. (S.) 632; [1992] Crim. L.R. 521, considered.

(10) R. v. Monfries, [2004] 2 Cr. App. R. (S.) 9; [2003] EWCA Crim. 3348, referred to.

(11) R. v. MooreUNK(1993), 15 Cr. App. R. (S.) 353, distinguished.

(12) R. v. PowellUNK(1999), 108 ACR 448, considered.

(13) R. v. Stylianou, [2003] EWCA Crim. 253, considered.

(14) R. v. Tibbetts, Grand Ct.; on appeal, sub nom.Tibbetts v. R., 2006 CILR 53; further proceedings, 2006 CILR 308, considered.

Criminal Procedure-proceeds of criminal conduct-money laundering-sentence-launderer”s role in facilitating principal offence normally recognized by treating sentence on principal offender as guide to sentencing launderer

Criminal Procedure-sentence-mitigation-medical condition-if imprisonment of defendant in poor health likely to reduce life expectancy (not merely possibly affecting life expectancy in future, or making imprisonment especially onerous), non-custodial sentence to be considered

The defendant was charged with the offence of laundering the proceeds of crime, contrary to s.32(1) of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Law (2005 Revision).

In the Grand Court, the defendant, a wealthy man prior to the commencement of his criminal activities, was found guilty of laundering over $9m. in assets through various corporate vehicles and bank accounts in the Cayman Islands and abroad. His sentence was to be considered separately, to take into account his particular circumstances-that he was over 72 years old, suffering from congestive heart failure and chronic renal insufficiency, and it was believed that prolonged imprisonment would imperil his life.

The Crown submitted that (a) money laundering on the scale in which the defendant participated would usually attract a long custodial sentence to take into account his role in facilitating the commission of the principal crime; (b) a heavy sentence was of particular importance in this case as the defendant”s abuse of the Cayman financial services industry was precisely what the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Law was designed to deter and punish and, as the defendant was already wealthy, his actions had clearly been motivated by greed; (c) there was precedent for custodial sentences to be passed on defendants with medical conditions, leaving it to the Governor”s prerogative of mercy to grant early release if incarceration became unjustifiable for health reasons; and (d) if the court were not inclined to give a custodial sentence, then the financial penalty imposed ought to take into account the level of the defendant”s wealth to ensure the penalty worked as a deterrent to him.

The defendant submitted in reply that he should not be given a custodial sentence as (a) the prison only had ‘basic makeshift facilities’

to cope with his condition, and employed no full-time medical personnel, which would be detrimental to his health and mean that the impact of imprisonment on him would be heavier than on a healthy defendant; and (b) although custodial sentences were sometimes passed on defendants with medical conditions, leaving release to the Governor”s...