The Proceeds of Crime and Criminal Property Confiscation Acts may affect the administration of personal bankruptcies and insolvent companies. There will often be a tax component to this. There are a smattering of statutory provisions that are not entirely consistent, as well as a number of gaps in the legislation. The interaction of proceeds of crime legislation, tax and insolvency should be carefully considered by practitioners. Read more
Blog Posts
Innocently acquired inheritance confiscated under the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000
The scope of the Criminal Property Confiscation Act 2000 (WA) is broad. All property owned by a person declared a drug trafficker is liable to be confiscated. This includes a beneficial interest in a deceased estate, even where the property of the deceased was acquired legally. Read more
Corruption and Crime Commission given Unexplained Wealth powers
Legislation has passed in Western Australia to give the Corruption and Crime Commission the power to investigate and litigate Unexplained Wealth matters under the Criminal Property Confiscation Act (WA). Read more
Using frozen money to pay defence legal fees
It is well established that property frozen under the Criminal Property Confiscation Act is able to be released to fund legal or living expenses. However, WA DPP practice over the last 10 years has been to deny requests to release funds frozen under the CPCA crime-used or crime-derived grounds. I successfully argued in the District Court that property frozen on these grounds could still be released for such expenses. Read more
National Cooperative Scheme on Unexplained Wealth
The Unexplained Wealth Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 proposes a ‘National Cooperative Scheme on Unexplained Wealth’. In this article I address the utility of this scheme and raise some issues with its proposed operation. Read more
Literary Proceeds: Will Schapelle Corby lose another interview fee to Proceeds of Crime laws?
Convicted drug trafficker and personality Schapelle Corby has given an interview to Australian magazine Women’s Day. This interview, purportedly about her future and not her past offence, is due to be published March 2018. But can the interview fee still be confiscated as Literary Proceeds under Proceeds of Crime laws? Read more
Criminal Property Confiscation Act WA: Jurisdictional limits
How should the value of frozen property be calculated for purposes of the jurisdictional limits of the Magistrates’ Court (and by extension, the District Court)? The correct calculation has been held to be based on the total value of the frozen property; contrary to previous practice. Read more
Proceeds of Crime compulsory examinations
The South Australia District Court recently published an interesting (and lengthy) decision considering the interaction of compulsory examinations under s 180 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) with the accusatorial criminal process: R v Ruzehaji (No 2) [2017] SADC 119. Read more
Recovering costs when Police drop a charge
Can you recover legal costs against the police? The situation in Western Australia and the options for the accused when police drop a charge before trial. Read more
AUSTRAC v Commonwealth Bank of Australia
In 2015 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessed the effectiveness of Australia’s Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing regime. The April 2015 report suggested more enforcement action. This may have prompted AUSTRAC’s investigation into the Commonwealth Bank. Read more