FORMER External Relations and Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf was due to appear before the Royal Court this morning to be sentenced for a series of immigration offences.
The current St Saviour Deputy pleaded guilty to five charges relating to the employment of Rwandan nationals in November.
The offences span from December 2021 to May 2023 and include four counts of assisting unlawful immigration and one count of attempting to assist unlawful immigration.
The charges relate to restrictions on the nature of work that could lawfully be carried out, rather than the individuals’ presence in the Island.
Ozouf was set to be sentenced alongside his co-accused Roberto Lora, who has pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to assist unlawful immigration.
The Savoy Hotel director had previously pleaded not guilty before changing his plea.
While some joint charges were originally included on the indictment, these were not proceeded with.
Ozouf remains a sitting States Member, although he has been suspended from attending and participating in Assembly meetings pending the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
That suspension, approved by the States Assembly late last year, does not prevent him from serving constituents or receiving his salary.
Under the law governing States Members, any prison sentence of three months or more would result in Ozouf automatically losing his seat in the States Assembly.
The offences are brought under section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971, as applied locally through the Immigration (Jersey) Order 2021, with one count also involving the Criminal Offences (Jersey) Law 2009.
The maximum penalty for these breaches is 14 years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.
