Lawyers from the specialist fraud division of the CPS found that Jeffrey Bevan had laundered more than B$2.45m [Bermudan dollars] (£1.74m) from the government over two years, funnelling the money into property purchases in the UK.

Bevan lived a lavish lifestyle on the stolen funds, buying racehorses, houses and flats, expensive cars, and betting online.

He had previously worked for the Welsh government, British Steel and the BBC, and was classed as a ‘super-user’ in the office of the Accountant General in Bermuda where he was in charge of expenditure as payments accountant manager.

He subsequently went on to defraud his own mother, persuading her to give him money that he said he would invest on her behalf and instead pocketing the £50,000 for himself.

Bevan pleaded guilty to 13 counts of money laundering after stealing funds from the Bermudan government between 2011 and 2013, and was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison in February 2018. In November 2018 he was sentenced to a further 18 months for the theft from his mother.

Following an application to the court, a confiscation order has been put in place. The court has also ordered Bevan to pay over £688,000 in compensation to his former employer, the Bermudan government, and to pay money back to his mother’s estate.

Bevan must pay these funds back within three months, or face further time added onto his prison sentence.

Juliette Simms, specialist prosecutor with the CPS, said: ‘Bevan wholly exploited his trusted position as an accountant to take money from a government body. Not content with taking taxpayers’ money, he also took money from his own mother, and spent the stolen funds ostentatiously on racehorses, luxury cars and gambling.

‘The CPS has helped to secure the property obtained by Bevan’s criminal activity and will now be able to ensure these funds are returned to his family and for the benefit of the people of Bermuda.’

Pat Sweet