The defendant appealed her conviction for assisting another to retain the proceeds of crime. The court considered what was meant by ‘suspicion’.
Held: For a defendant to be convicted of an offence under section 93A(1)(a) of the 1988 Act, he or she must think that there is a possibility, which is more than fanciful, that the relevant facts exist. This is subject, in an appropriate case, to the further requirement that the suspicion so formed should be of a settled nature.
The court considered the meaning of the word suspect, and said: ‘the defendant must think that there is a possibility, which is more than fanciful, that the relevant facts exist. A vague feeling of unease would not suffice. But the statute does not require the suspicion to be ‘clear’ or ‘firmly grounded and targeted on specific facts’ or based on ‘reasonable grounds’.’
‘It seems to us that the essential element in the word ‘suspect’ and its affiliates, in this context, is that the defendant must think that there is a possibility, which is more than fanciful, that the relevant facts exist. A vague feeling of unease would not suffice. But the statute does not require the suspicion to be ‘clear’ or ‘firmly grounded and targeted on specific facts’ or based on ‘reasonable grounds”
Judges:
Longmore LJ, Gloster J, Diehl QC J
Citations:
[2006] EWCA Crim 1654, Times 04-Aug-2006, [2007] 1 WLR 303, [2006] 4 All ER 900
Links:
Statutes:
Criminal Justice Act 1988 93A(1)(a)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – K Ltd v National Westminster Bank Plc and others CA 19-Jul-2006
The bank had declined to act upon a customer’s instructions, reporting its suspicions of criminal activity to the police. Permission was given to proceed but only after a delay. The claimant customer sought its costs.
Held: The customer’s . .
Cited – Shah and Another v HSBC Private Bank (UK) Ltd QBD 26-Jan-2009
The claimants sought damages after delays by the bank in processing transfer requests. The bank said that the delays were made pending reports of suspected criminal activity. The bank’s delay had stigmatised the claimant causing further losses. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 14 September 2022; Ref: scu.243066