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An Alicante-based man who was jailed in the UK for VAT fraud five years ago is now facing further charges in Jersey's Royal Court for hiding the money in local bank accounts.
Martin John Hill (56) pleaded guilty to six money laundering charges in the island's Royal Court earlier this week.
He appeared via video link from his Costa Blanca home to admit using a Jersey bank account to hide money he obtained through tax fraud in the UK.
Between 2014 and 2016, Hill had made inaccurate tax declarations to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for two Isle of Wight hotels: the Burlington Hotel, and the Shanklin Beach Hotel.
He under-declared sales for the hotels and pocketed the VAT he charged guests.
In 2019, Hill was sentenced for three charges of VAT evasion at Southwark Crown Court.
He was jailed for 30 months and banned from being a company director for seven years.
The hotelier has now pleaded guilty to six charges of money laundering in Jersey in relation to the fraudulent funds.
Hill admitted that he had transferred the money from a UK account at Tesco Bank to an account at Santander International's Jersey branch.
In 2017, he transferred £165,500, then £10,000, and then £86,500 to Jersey.
He also admitted one count of possessing the proceeds of criminal conduct, which amounted to over £340,000 held in a Jersey bank account.
He pleaded guilty to one count of removing fraudulent money from Jersey by transferring the majority of the above figure to a Spanish bank account.
Hill sent £340,500 from his Jersey bank account to an account at Spanish bank CaixaBank in January 2018.
The final charge that he pleaded guilty to was converting criminal money.
The court head that Hill had converted a total of £28,487 to €31,392 within his Jersey bank account during May 2017 and June 2018.
Hill pleaded not guilty to the seventh charge of removing criminal property from Jersey.
This charge centred around that fact that he had allegedly sent €26,605 of criminal money from Jersey to Spain – using bank transfers, cash withdrawals and debit card spending.
The Crown did not produce any evidence for this final charge and the case was dropped.
Hill was bailed on condition that he must reside at his Alicante address.
He will have to travel to Jersey to be sentenced on 21 November.
Crown Advocate Sam Brown was prosecuting, and Hill was represented by Advocate Ian Jones.
The Deputy Bailiff, Robert MacRae, was presiding. The Jurats sitting were David Le Heuzé and Alison Opfermann.
Pictured top: Alicante, where Hill resides.
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