Ozouf: The Jersey deputy who broke immigration law

One of Jersey's longest-serving politicians has avoided a prison sentence after breaking the island's immigration law.

On Thursday, deputy Philip Ozouf was sentenced to 120 hours of community service for four counts of assisting unlawful immigration and one count of attempting to assist unlawful immigration.

The Royal Court heard how Ozouf had employed five Rwandan workers to work in his launderette and at his home when they did not have the legal right to do so.

While his lack of a custodial sentence means his political position is safe, this is one of several controversies across his career which has spanned more than two decades.

Born in March 1970, Ozouf arrived into a Jersey political legacy.

His father Philip Ozouf senior was a farmer and a constable of St Saviour. It was a family history of public service Ozouf said he was "proud" to continue.

After being educated at Victoria College, Ozouf studied business and languages at the European Business School in London, Frankfurt and Paris.

He worked abroad in finance before returning to Jersey.

Ozouf's skill with languages and love of international culture have defined large parts of his political career - such as his support for the opening of overseas government offices in London and Brussels.

Travel was also something he enjoyed with his late husband, Kevin Rogers, who died in 2023, less than six years after the couple got married. Ozouf was the island's first openly-gay politician.

Ozouf was elected to the States of Jersey as a deputy in 1999, topping the polls in St Helier District Three.

His political star then began to rise and he was elected on an island-wide mandate as senator in 2002, then re-elected in 2008 and 2011.

He served as the economic development minister from 2005 to 2008 and as the treasury minister from 2008 until 2014, balancing States budgets during a period of global economic recession.

He was also the island's deputy chief minister, the second most senior politician, between 2008 and 2011.

After calls for a recount, Ozouf scraped through the 2014 election as a senator.

During this political term, he served as assistant chief minister - a role he held, resigned from, was reinstated to and then fired from all during six months of 2017.

He lost this position partly due to his management of a controversial business loan scheme - the Jersey Innovation Fund - and because of personal purchases made on a States credit card.

While subject to scrutiny, these purchases were cleared by police and by the States' Commissioner for Standards.

During a break from politics between 2018 and 2022, Ozouf worked as an adviser to the Rwandan finance minister and with a recruitment company to bring people from Rwanda to work in Jersey.

His relationship with the African country had started years earlier and continued while he was in government. He was responsible for signing a memorandum of understanding between the Rwandan and Jersey governments in 2016.

Ultimately, it was Ozouf illegally employing Rwandan nationals in his laundry business which led to his immigration offences in 2025.

Before then, he returned to the States Assembly as external relations minister in 2022.

He strengthened the island's relationship with France, including securing "critical" fishing permits for EU boats in Jersey waters.

In 2023, his personal finances returned to the spotlight when the BBC revealed he had been in the petty debts court at least 10 times in five years.

When deputy Kristina Moore - a key ally of Ozouf's - was ousted as chief minister in 2024, he lost his ministerial position but continued as a deputy.

However, in September 2025, Ozouf was suspended from the States without pay for 28 days for breaching the members' code of conduct.

It was after he was fined for driving more than double the speed limit and not having a valid insurance disc.

In October, Ozouf appeared in Jersey's Royal Court where he pleaded guilty to four counts of assisting unlawful immigration and one count of attempting to assist unlawful immigration.

Following calls for his resignation, Ozouf was suspended from the assembly for the second time in November, this time with pay but pending the outcome of his immigration sentencing.

If, on Thursday, Ozouf had been given a prison sentence of three months or more he would have been disqualified from being a Jersey politician, under the law governing the States Assembly.

But, having been given community service, his suspension ends and his political career continues.

Ozouf has not confirmed whether he plans to stand in Jersey's election in June.

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