The Judgement Washed prompted by Michael Poole
Act I – The Confession
The protagonist, a Canadian-born expatriate in his sixties, walks into the chambers of Chief Judge Le Cocq of the Royal Court of Jersey.
He accuses the court of laundering his family’s fortune through a “variation order” on his late mother’s will.
The judge, unfazed, advises him to “talk to a lawyer” and dismisses him.
Soon after, his lawyers mysteriously withdraw from the case, citing “conflicts of interest.”
Act II – The Web
The protagonist digs deeper and discovers that Viberts, the firm handling the estate, has been involved in his past losses: a house in England in 1996 and another estate dispute in 1994.
The head of the local law society, Charlie Thacker, is a partner at Viberts—closing off legal representation on the island.
The protagonist suspects that the court itself is complicit, laundering vast fortunes under the guise of lawful probate orders.
He realizes that once a judgment is stamped, any trace of illegality disappears—money becomes “clean.”
Act III – The Conspiracy
He uncovers that the disputed fortune traces back to Callmann Rothschild, a relative, giving the case an international financial dimension.
His investigation points to Jersey’s offshore system, long under scrutiny by international watchdogs.
Each lead is obstructed: whistleblowers vanish, files disappear, and foreign attorneys decline representation, citing “jurisdictional issues.”
A sympathetic outsider, an idealistic junior lawyer from London, risks her career to help him.
Act IV – The Showdown
Together, they file a petition to the Privy Council in London, bypassing Jersey’s courts.
Evidence emerges that the variation orders are not isolated cases but part of a systematic laundering network run through the Royal Court.
Just as the case gains traction, the protagonist is threatened with arrest on fabricated charges in Jersey.
The climax unfolds in a tense London hearing where centuries-old laws collide with modern anti-money laundering scrutiny.
Act V – The Verdict
The court rules narrowly—acknowledging “procedural irregularities” without fully dismantling Jersey’s legal system.
The protagonist gains moral vindication, but most of the fortune remains lost in layers of offshore trusts.
The junior lawyer, hardened by the fight, vows to continue exposing offshore corruption.
The final scene leaves the reader questioning whether the law itself has become the ultimate laundering machine.
This framework mirrors: a lone protagonist against a corrupt system, legal maneuvering, international intrigue, and an ending where justice is partial but truth is revealed.