Clause 11 - Assumptions to be made in case of criminal lifestyle
Proceeds of Crime Bill
7:15 pm
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
I am advised that they have that construction, and that if the amendment were accepted—I am not trying to play party politics—a much lower level of evidence would be required. Simply presenting evidence would lead to a double reversal on the prosecution who would have to prove the origins of the property in question. Before the hon. Gentleman decides whether to press the amendment to a vote, I ask him to consider it seriously that in the overwhelming majority of cases that would not be provable, and the proceeds of crime would not be confiscated. That is the advice that I have received about how the amendment would impact on the Bill. The application of an evidential burden would make the assumptions procedure ineffective.
In relation to amendment No. 76, the facts adduced for the consideration of assumptions are the details of the property held, received or spent by the defendant, as set out by the director in the prosecutor's statement. The process begins with a description of the defendant's property, and the defendant must then account for its lawful origin. As I explained, the procedure is designed to absolve the director and the prosecutor of the need to lead evidence as to the criminal origin of the property, and nor should any such requirement be imposed on them.
The amendment is flawed in another respect—it implies that there must be some connection between the offences on the charge sheet and the conduct the proceeds of which the assumptions are designed to expose. If, for example, a defendant had been convicted of fraud, the assumptions could not be made if no link was proved between the defendant's property and fraud. That approach is misguided. The purpose of the assumptions is to lay bare the proceeds of the defendant's entire past criminal career, regardless of the conduct involved.