The appellant had arranged for sums of money totalling 30,000 pounds to be transferred from England to Jamaica at the request of a man she knew. There was no evidence of any financial gain. She said that she did not know the provenance of the money. She had two children to look after. She had two minor previous convictions. The court considered the sentencing levels for money laundering offences. She had denied the offence.
Held: The court reduced her two year sentence to one of 15 months’ imprisonment.
There were no guidelines for this offence, given that they vary so much. Among the considerations are: ‘(ii) There is not necessarily a direct relationship between the sentence for the laundering offence and the original antecedent offence. Where, however, the particular antecedent offence can be identified, some regard will be had to the appropriate sentence for that offence, when considering the appropriate sentence for the laundering offence.
(iii) The criminality in laundering is the assistance, support and encouragement it provides to criminal conduct.
(iv) Regard should be had to the extent of the launderer’s knowledge of the antecedent offence.
(v) The amount of money laundered is a relevant factor.’
Citations:
[2004] 2 Cr App R(S) 3
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Smale, Regina v CACD 30-Apr-2008
The defendants appealed against sentences of imprisonment after being convicted of assisting a family member to hide assets after his conviction for cocaine importation.
Held: The sentences were reduced. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 04 May 2022; Ref: scu.581693