Clause 6 - Making of order
Proceeds of Crime Bill
Public Bill Committees, 20 November 2001, 10:30 am
Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield, Conservative)
If the state decides to confiscate someone's assets in the circumstances outlined in the clause, is it not being alleged that the person concerned has fraudulently, or at least dishonestly, acquired those assets? The draconian consequences of the confiscation order point to the fact that the civil standard of proof should be a high one. Is not that an argument for using the civil standard of proof rather than a balance of probabilities, which the Minister accepts was introduced to make confiscation easier?