“Palpable nonsense” – Alicante tax fraudster fails in Jersey double-jeopardy fight

The money trail ran from English hotels to Jersey bank accounts and ultimately a luxury villa in Spain… but when a hotelier argued that Jersey had no right to prosecute him because he had already been punished in England, Jersey's Royal Court was unconvinced.

An Isle of Wight hotelier who channelled money through Jersey bank accounts before using it to help buy a luxury villa in Spain has failed in a dramatic bid to have his case thrown out of Jersey's Royal Court – despite insisting it was "palpable nonsense" to portray him as a "professional" launderer.

Martin John Hill (58), who previously admitted six money-laundering offences in Jersey, argued that the prosecution amounted to double jeopardy because he had already been convicted and punished in England for related VAT fraud offences. He described the Jersey proceedings as "kicking a man when he's buried."

The Royal Court was unconvinced and rejected his application to have the case dismissed.

Background to the case

Hill formerly operated the Burlington Hotel and Shanklin Beach Hotel on the Isle of Wight. Between 2014 and 2016 he under-declared sales and pocketed the VAT charged to guests.

In 2019 he pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to three charges of VAT evasion. He was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment and banned from acting as a company director for seven years.

To hide the proceeds,

• Hill transferred funds from a UK Tesco Bank account to a Santander International account in Jersey.
• In 2017, he moved approximately £262,000 into the Jersey account.
• He later held more than £340,000 in the Jersey account and converted some of the money between sterling and euros.
• In January 2018, he transferred £340,500 from the Jersey account to a bank in Spain (CaixaBank), funds that helped him acquire a luxury villa in the Alicante area, where he now lives.

Jersey proceedings

In September 2024, appearing by video link from his home in Alicante, Hill pleaded guilty in Jersey's Royal Court to six counts of money laundering and related offences involving the handling, possession, conversion and removal of criminal property. A seventh charge was dropped after the Crown offered no evidence.

He was due to be sentenced in Jersey on 21 November 2024 but refused to travel to the island. The Royal Court issued an arrest warrant and ordered his extradition from Spain.

Hill fought the extradition in Spanish courts and lodged an application with the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that bringing him to Jersey would breach his human rights and violate the principle of double jeopardy (ne bis in idem).

He claimed the Jersey charges were essentially a "copy-paste" of the English case and that UK authorities had been fully aware of the Jersey transactions because he had disclosed all his bank accounts.

Latest ruling

Now in Jersey, Hill made a formal application to have the prosecution stayed or the case thrown out on double-jeopardy grounds. He told the court it was "palpable nonsense" to brand him a professional money launderer and described the continued pursuit of the case as "kicking a man when he's buried."

The Royal Court rejected the application. The judges were unconvinced that the Jersey money-laundering charges, which concern the use of the island's financial system, were barred by his earlier English conviction for the underlying VAT fraud.

Hill remains subject to the Jersey proceedings.

Sources  

• Bailiwick Express – Alicante-based tax fraudster admits to Jersey money laundering charges (background on guilty pleas and money trail): https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news/alicante-based-tax-fraudster-admits-jersey-charges/
• Bailiwick Express – Alicante-based tax fraudster to fight human rights case against Jersey extradition (double-jeopardy and human-rights arguments): https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news/alicante-based-tax-fraudster-to-fight-human-rights-case-against-jersey-extradition/
• Comsure Group – Jersey Money Laundering Convict Challenges Extradition on Double Jeopardy Human Rights Grounds (detailed legal arguments): http://www.comsuregroup.com/news/jersey-money-laundering-convict-challenges-extradition-on-double-jeopardy-human-rights-grounds/
• Bailiwick Express – https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news/kicking-a-man-when-hes-buried-alicante-tax-fraudster-loses-jersey-double-jeopardy-claim/