William McCorkle

The first real test of Cayman's anti-money laundering Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Law 1996 has ended in victory for the alleged money launderers and defeat for the US government - all because the US authorities were a day late in meeting a key filing deadline. Although not agreeing with his interpretation of at least two key points of the PCCL, Cayman's Court of Appeal nevertheless upheld a decision by former Chief Justice George Harre to discharge a restraint order freezing $7 million in three accounts at the Royal Bank of Canada that were controlled by Americans William J. McCorkle and his wife, Chantal.

The Cayman Islands authorities have so far processed three matters under the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Law, which became law in September, 1996 but became operational at the beginning of this year.Two of the matters involved applications from the US authorities to restrain the assets of suspected criminals while the other resulted in the prosecution of a man on relatively minor money laundering offences, to which he pleaded guilty and was given a prison term, said Cayman's Attorney General Richard Coles.