Forfeiture of over £725,000 of criminal funds ordered by Jersey’s Royal Court
The Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit (ECCU) of the Law Officers’ Department has secured an order from the Royal Court for the forfeiture of £725,783 of tainted funds deposited into Jersey bank accounts by a Brazilian national, Expedito Machado.
Expedito’s father, Jose Sergio de Oliveria Machado, had received over US$ 40 million of bribes when working as CEO of Brazil’s largest oil and gas transportation company, Petrobas Transporte SA (“Transpetro”). The bribes had been made by Brazilian, Greek, German and Norwegian companies to secure contracts for ship-building and other shipping services with Transpetro. These bribes were uncovered as part of a large-scale anti-corruption investigation in Brazil, known as “Operação Lava Jato” (Operation Car Wash).
Expedito Machado laundered some of the bribes that had been paid to his father between 2007 and 2013 through a complex structure involving Jersey Trusts. The bribes were first paid to Switzerland, where the funds would be distributed to other Swiss accounts used to disguise the criminal origin of the money as ordinary commercial transactions. Four Jersey trusts, funded by bribe monies transferred from Switzerland, owned and controlled underlying companies that held Jersey bank accounts which were used to buy property in the United Kingdom.
ECCU was able to demonstrate that the money used for the acquisition of these properties held by the underlying companies of the Jersey trusts originated from the payments received abroad as bribes and which were first deposited in Switzerland.
Expedito Machado pleaded guilty to money laundering offences in Brazil and Switzerland and cooperated with both the Brazilian and Swiss authorities in identifying the proceeds of crime. He also confirmed the underlying facts to the Attorney General in a sworn affidavit lodged as part of the proceedings in Jersey, which he did not oppose.
Jersey’s Attorney General, Matthew Jowitt KC, issued a forfeiture notice under Article 10 (1) of the Forfeiture of Assets (Civil Proceedings) (Jersey) Law 2018 seeking forfeiture of the £725,783 deposited into Jersey bank accounts and on 1 May 2026 the Royal Court granted the Attorney General's application to forfeit the tainted funds.
Now that the forfeiture has been granted by the Royal Court, the Attorney General will liaise with the Brazilian authorities to return the funds to Brazil, less the costs borne by the Law Officers’ Department in recovering the funds.
Mr Jowitt, said:
“ECCU and our Mutual Legal Assistance Team (with support from the Jersey Financial Intelligence Unit) have worked in close partnership with the Advocacia-Geral da União and the Swiss Public Prosecutor to recover tainted property on behalf of the people of Brazil. The Royal Court’s order concludes a complex and long-running asset forfeiture investigation by ECCU.
This is further evidence that the 2018 Forfeiture Law is a vital tool in recovering the proceeds of corruption and restoring that money to victims of international financial crime.”
Press note: These are civil proceedings that were not opposed by the Respondents. The Court was not invited to and made no finding against any legal person.
11 May 2026