Margot Serra and Ors v Attorney General for Gibraltar

Facts

On 30 June 2023 Dudley CJ made a recovery order under Part V of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2015 against five appellants in respect of three items of property: Flat 8, Sunrise Court, Gibraltar; Commercial Units 1, 2 and 3, Water Gardens, Gibraltar; and Gibraltar taxi licence number 65. The prosecution case was that each item was, or represented, property obtained through unlawful conduct, namely drug trafficking. The order followed an investigation by the Gibraltar authorities, in co-operation with the Spanish authorities, into the activities of Mr Clint Serra, the fifth appellant, to whom the other appellants are related or connected; under a European Arrest Warrant issued in September 2019 he was accused of importing large quantities of drugs into Spain and identified as the leader of a criminal group. On 19 April 2024 the Court of Appeal for Gibraltar, Sir Maurice Kay P, Sir Nigel Davis and Sir Adrian Fulford JJA, dismissed an appeal against the Chief Justice's order. The appellants appealed to His Majesty in Council as of right under section 66 of the Gibraltar Constitution Order of 2006, the matter in dispute being of a value of £50,000 or upwards. The Court of Appeal granted leave and ordered security for costs of £20,000. A single member of the Board directed a case management hearing to consider whether the appeal offended the rule in Devi v Roy.