Figures agreed in confiscation proceedings are conclusive at all stages. Citations: Times 03-Jan-1994 Statutes: Drug Trafficking Offenders Act 1986 3 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Practice Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.88209
No guideline for laundering of proceeds of drugs – too wide variation. Citations: Times 05-Apr-1994 Statutes: Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 24(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.87381
In assessment of proceeds of drug trafficking, court not to treat money launderers as a special case despite statutory distinction. Citations: Times 26-Jan-1998 Statutes: Drug Trafficking Offenders Act 1994 4(5) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.86652
The applicant was arrested and placed under house arrest on charges relating to his association with the Mafia. As an interim measure some of his property was seized. The proceedings ended in his acquittal. He claimed that the seizure of his property was a violation of his rights under A1P1. Held: His complaint was dismissed.The … Continue reading Raimondo v Italy: ECHR 22 Feb 1994
Civil recovery orders had been made against the applicant. He had been accused and acquitted of drug trafficking allegations in Europe, but the judge had been persuaded that he had no proper explanation for the accumulation of his wealth, and had rejected his evidence as unreliable. Held: The defendant’s appeal failed. The making of an … Continue reading Gale and Another v Serious Organised Crime Agency: SC 26 Oct 2011
An interim receiver under the Act was primarily appointed to preserve the assets of the defendant to prevent dissipation, and not to maximise them so as to realise greater sums for the purposes of any eventual confiscation order. He was answerable first to the court, and the court should not withdraw its control to such … Continue reading In Re P (Restraint Order) (Sale of Assets): CA 2 Aug 1999
Judges: Gosnell HHJ Citations: [2013] WLR(D) 344, [2014] 1 WLR 2658, [2013] EWHC 2481 (Admin) Links: Bailii, WLRD Statutes:
Although the rules specified that a form should be used when making application to extend the time for which money could be held pending an application under the Act for its forfeiture, there was no enforceable duty to prove that the form had been used, and its absence was not a fatal flaw in the … Continue reading Regina v Luton Justices ex parte Abecasis: CA 30 Mar 2000
The central issue in these proceedings has been the question of who is the beneficial owner of a property Judges: King J Citations: [2013] EWHC 501 (Admin), [2013] Lloyd’s Rep FC 262 Links: Bailii Statutes: Drug Trafficking Act 1994 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.471681
Evidence from 3rd Party Torture Inadmissible The applicants had been detained following the issue of certificates issued by the respondent that they posed a terrorist threat. They challenged the decisions of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission saying that evidence underlying the decisions had probably been obtained by torture committed by foreign powers, and should not … Continue reading A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2): HL 8 Dec 2005
When the customs seized cash under the section on the suspicion that it might be the proceeds of drug trafficking, the time limit imposed by the section for the return of the money if continued retention was not authorised, was strict. They had 48 hours within which to obtain authority. Money was seized at 11:30am … Continue reading Walsh v Commissioners of Customs and Excise: QBD 4 Jul 2001
This is an appeal on preliminary points of European Union and domestic law regarding the circumstances in which damages may be recoverable for failure to comply with the requirements of the Public Procurement Directive (Parliament and Council Directive 2004/18/EC on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and … Continue reading Nuclear Decommissioning Authority v Energysolutions EU Ltd (Now Called ATK Energy EU Ltd): SC 11 Apr 2017
The defendants faced charges under the two Acts. They raised as a preliminary issue whether it is necessary for the Crown to prove that the property being converted was in fact the proceeds, in the case of the 1994 Act, of drug trafficking and, in the case of the 1988 Act, of crime. The Crown … Continue reading Regina v Montila and Others: HL 25 Nov 2004
The defendant appealed aganst his conviction for conspiracy to engage in moneylaundering. At trial he pleaded guilty subject to a qualification that he had not known that the money was the proceeds of crime, though he may have suspected that it would be. Held: (Baroness Hale of Richmond dissenting) The appeal succeeded: ‘the Crown’s principal … Continue reading Saik, Regina v: HL 3 May 2006
The defendant applied for a certificate of inadequacy in respect of a confiscation order. Citations: [2008] EWHC 2226 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Drug Trafficking Act 1994 Criminal Sentencing Updated: 19 July 2022; Ref: scu.276527
Valuation of drugs in confiscation order.Applying the 1994 Act, sections 2(3) and 4(1) were directed to gross payments and not net profits. Judges: Lord Bingham of Cornhill LCJ, Sachs, Toulson JJ Citations: [1996] EWCA Crim 1799, [1997] 2 Cr App R (S) 110, [1997] Crim LR 235 Links: Bailii Statutes: Drug Trafficking Act 1994 5, … Continue reading Regina v Banks: CACD 9 Dec 1996
The several defendants complained at the use at their trials of evidence given anonymously. The perceived need for anonymity arose because, from intimidation, the witnesses would not be willing to give their evidence without it. Held: The anonymity ruling did not prevent proper investigation with the witnesses in open court of the essential elements of … Continue reading Regina v Davis (Iain); Regina v Ellis, Regina v Gregory, Regina v Simms, Regina v Martin: CACD 19 May 2006
Judges: Goldring J Citations: [2005] EWHC 2641 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Drug Trafficking Act 1994 43(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 04 July 2022; Ref: scu.235196
The defendants appealed against their convictions for conspiracy to launder money under section 49(2) of the 1994 Act. The appellants said that the effect of the decision in Montila, alongside sections 1(1) and 1(2) of the 1997 Act, was that a person could not be guilty of a conspiracy to commit an offence against section … Continue reading Ali, Hussain, Khan, Bhatti, Regina v: CACD 7 Jun 2005
The defendant appealed his convictions for robbery. He had been subject to a dock identification, and he complained that the prosecution had failed in its duties of disclosure. Held: The combination of several failings meant that the defendant had not received a fair trial, and the appeal was allowed. The practice of dock identification was … Continue reading Holland v Her Majesty’s Advocate (Devolution): PC 11 May 2005
The defendants appealed against confiscation orders on the basis that in various ways, the Crown had failed to comply with procedural requirements. Held: The courts must remember the importance of such procedures in the fight against crime, and must not allow procedural or technical failures to defeat that purpose. Courts should rather look to see … Continue reading Sekhon, etc v Regina: CACD 16 Dec 2002
The claimants sought return of vehicle parts from the police. The police replied that the goods had been tampered with in such a way as to suggest they may have been stolen, and that they were therefore kept, even after the finish of the court procedings against the claimants, to ascertain their ownership under the … Continue reading Gough and Another v The Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police: CA 2 Mar 2004
Appeal against refusal of restraint order. Held: It is enough that on the documents a good arguable case arises for treating the relevant assets as the realisable property of the defendant. Lord Justice Simon Brown said: ‘All that I think it appropriate on this appeal to add by way of comment on the approach to … Continue reading Crown Prosecution Service v Compton, Comptons of Brighton Limited, Coyne, Compton: CA 27 Nov 2002
Statutory provisions which reversed the burden of proof in cases involving drug smuggling and other repeat offenders, allowing confiscation orders to be made were not necessarily in contravention of the article 6 right. However the question of whether the statutory provision infringed the right to a fair trial was for each particular case which came … Continue reading Regina v Benjafield, Regina v Leal, Regina v Rezvi, Regina v Milford: HL 24 Jan 2002
Citations: [2004] EWHC 953 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Drug Trafficking Act 1994 42 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Practice Updated: 07 May 2022; Ref: scu.226869
The Court rejected the applicant’s contention that the proceedings involved a ‘criminal charge’ and resulted in the imposition of a penalty or punishment. The forfeiture was preventative and not a penal sanction. Accordingly it was permissible that, pursuant to section 43(3), the standard of proof required to justify forfeiture was that applicable to civil proceedings. … Continue reading Webb v The United Kingdom: ECHR 10 Feb 2004
Two women parties used funds generated by a joint business venture to buy a house in which they lived together. It was vested in the sole name of the plaintiff but on the understanding that they were joint beneficial owners. The purpose of the arrangement was so that false benefit claims could be made to … Continue reading Tinsley v Milligan: HL 28 Jun 1993
A substantial confiscation order was made with respect to money seized from the applicant on the ground that customs officers believed the money was directly or indirectly the proceeds of drugs trafficking and/or was intended for use in drug trafficking. The applicant contended that a court, when considering whether to make a forfeiture order in … Continue reading Butler v United Kingdom: ECHR 27 Jun 2002
Each applicant had been subject to confiscation in criminal proceedings relating to drugs offences. They complained that the legislation had reversed the burden of proof. Held: ‘it was not incompatible with the notion of a fair hearing in criminal proceedings to place the onus on each applicant to give a credible account of his current … Continue reading Grayson and Barnham v The United Kingdom: ECHR 23 Sep 2008
The appellant had completed that proportion of a total of 22 years’ imprisonment, which he was required to serve for drug trafficking offences. But he remained in prison serving a default term for failure to pay the whole of the sum of pounds 3,458,806, which he was required to pay by virtue of a confiscation … Continue reading Telli v Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: CA 21 Dec 2007
Each defendant appealed against confiscation orders made when the sentence imposed was an absolute or conditional discharge. They said that Clarke made such orders unlawful. Held: The decision in Clarke was a difficult limitation on the court’s discretion: ‘there are cases in which the combination of an order for discharge with a confiscation order represents … Continue reading Regina v Magro: CACD 8 Jul 2010
In each case the defendant sought to resist European Extradition Warrants saying that an order would be a disporportionate interference in their human right to family life. The Court asked whether its approach as set out in Norris, had to be amended in the light of the case of ZH. Held: HH and PH’s appeals … Continue reading HH v Deputy Prosecutor of The Italian Republic, Genoa: SC 20 Jun 2012
Balancing Rights of Prisoner and Society The appellant had been convicted of the murder of three police officers in 1966. His tariff of thirty years had now long expired. He complained that material put before the Parole Board reviewing has case had not been disclosed to him. Held: The appeal failed (by a majority). The … Continue reading Roberts v Parole Board: HL 7 Jul 2005
These appeals concern the statutory provisions governing the eligibility for compensation of persons convicted of a criminal offence where their conviction is subsequently quashed (or they are pardoned) because of the impact of fresh evidence. It was argued that the failure to make payment amounted to a denial of the right to the presumption of … Continue reading Hallam, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice: SC 30 Jan 2019
Appeal against conviction for entering into an arrangement for the retention of criminal funds. The defendant said that at the time of the arrangement there were not yet any criminal funds in existence. A had set up websites intending to con visitors selling non-existent cut price insurance. B opened bank accounts for A to be … Continue reading GH, Regina v: SC 22 Apr 2015
The court was considering the terms of a confiscation order. It decided to postpone the decision beyond the six month limit. Questions had arisen about the apparent shift of the burden of proof. Two cases were due to be heard by the Court of Appeal which would affect the issue before the court. Held: The … Continue reading Regina v Jagdev: CACD 31 May 2002
(Jamaica) The defendant appealed his conviction for murder saying that the admission of an unsworn statement by one witness and the non-admission of another similar statement who did not either attend court was unconstitutional. He shot the victim 13 times with hollow point bullets. He claimed self defence, and drove straight to the police station … Continue reading Grant v The Queen: PC 16 Jan 2006
The claimant was responsible for recovering money under the 2002 Act, and alleged that the first defendant had been engaged in a mortgage fraud. Held: To succeed in such a claim for recovery the Claimant must prove, ‘on a balance of probabilities’, that the matters alleged to constitute unlawful conduct occurred. The court had a … Continue reading Assets Recovery Agency v Olupitan and Another: QBD 8 Feb 2007
The judge when sentencing the offender set a timetable for the purpose of determinations under the 1994 Act, requiring disclosure of assets and expenditure by the defendant within 28 days and a prosecutor’s statement within 28 days thereafter. Held: Nevertheless, there had been a breach of section 3 because the court had failed to specify … Continue reading Regina v Davies: CACD 22 May 2001
The claimant’s husband had been made subject to a criminal confiscation order in the sum of pounds 5.5 million. She now sought to appeal an action against life policies in which she claimed a 50% interest. Held: Despite the finding that she had some awareness of her husband’s activities, the claimant was entitled to keep … Continue reading Gibson v Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office: CA 12 Jun 2008
The appellants challenged decisions of the VAT and Duties Tribunal after seizure of their goods, and in particular whether the cases had been criminal or civil cases and following Roth, whether the respondent’s policy had been lawful and proportionate. Held: The present procedure does not involve the criminal courts and the absence of any criminal … Continue reading Gora and others v Commissioners of Customs and Excise and others: CA 11 Apr 2003
Each defendant challenged the way he had been treated on revocation of his parole licence, saying he should have been given the opportunity to make oral representations. Held: The prisoners’ appeals were allowed. Lord Bingham stated: ‘While an oral hearing is most obviously necessary to achieve a just decision in a case where facts are … Continue reading Regina v Parole Board ex parte Smith, Regina v Parole Board ex parte West (Conjoined Appeals): HL 27 Jan 2005
The husband and wife divorced and a property adjustment order applied for. The husband had been convicted and a drugs proceeds order made under the 1994 Act. The order had not been satisfied, and the receiver applied for money from the matrimonial property. Held: The two Acts gave no indication that either was to take … Continue reading H M Customs and Excise and Another v MCA and Another; A v A; Re MCA: CA 22 Jul 2002
The defendant had been tried for the murder of two men by shooting them at a party. He was identified as the murderer by three witnesses who had been permitted to give evidence anonymously, from behind screens, because they had refused, out of fear, to testify should their identities be disclosed. He now said that … Continue reading Regina v Davis: HL 18 Jun 2008
The applicants had been made subject of anti-social behaviour orders. They challenged the basis upon which the orders had been made. Held: The orders had no identifiable consequences which would make the process a criminal one. Civil standards of evidence therefore applied, and hearsay evidence was admissible. Nevertheless, the test as to whether it was … Continue reading Clingham (formerly C (a minor)) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; Regina v Crown Court at Manchester Ex parte McCann and Others: HL 17 Oct 2002
The claimant sought equal pay with other, male, warehouse operatives who were doing work of equal value but for more money. The Court of Appeal had held that since other men were also employed on the same terms both as to pay and work, her claim failed. Held: The claim was not disbarred in this … Continue reading Pickstone v Freemans Plc: HL 30 Jun 1988
The applicant appealed against a confiscation order made on the basis of evidence obtained for and given in a trial that he had profited from the importation of cannabis. He had not faced trial on an associated charge, but had been convicted of conspiracy on the importation of heroin. Held: The court need not rely … Continue reading Briggs-Price, Regina v: HL 29 Apr 2009
Extension oh Human Rights Beyond Borders The appellants complained that the system set up by the respondent where Home Office officers were placed in Prague airport to pre-vet applicants for asylum from Romania were dsicriminatory in that substantially more gypsies were refused entry than others, and that it was contrary to the obligations of the … Continue reading Regina v Immigration Officer at Prague Airport and another, ex parte European Roma Rights Centre and others: HL 9 Dec 2004
The applicants had been imprisoned and held without trial, being suspected of international terrorism. No criminal charges were intended to be brought. They were foreigners and free to return home if they wished, but feared for their lives if they did. A British subject, who was suspected in the exact same way, and there were … Continue reading A v Secretary of State for the Home Department, and X v Secretary of State for the Home Department: HL 16 Dec 2004
The defendant had been convicted of involvement in a substantial VAT fraud, and made subject to a confiscation order. He was made subject to a confiscation order in respect of the amounts lost to the fraud where he was involved, but argued that the court had made each of 16 defendants liable for the full … Continue reading May, Regina v: HL 14 May 2008
The court considered the proper approach for the court to adopt, and the proper orders for the court to make, in confiscation proceedings where a number of criminals (some of whom may not be before the court) had between them acquired property or money as a result of committing an offence for which all or … Continue reading Ahmad, Regina v: SC 18 Jun 2014
The appellant had been found to have received criminal proceeds along with another. He appealed against an order making him liable for the full amount. Held: The appeal failed. The defendant’s argument did not face the finding that he had been acting jointly with his co-defendants. ‘The committee cannot, however, regard it as disproportionate to … Continue reading Regina v Green: HL 14 May 2008
The defendant was subject to a confiscation order. The judge had postponed the determination of the amount, but without specifying when it would take place.
Held: The requirement in the Act was mandatory. When deciding to postpone an . .