Clause 72 - Serious default
Proceeds of Crime Bill
3:35 pm
Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield, Conservative)
We now come to the important matter of serious default and compensation. The clause provides for circumstances in which compensation may be paid to the subject of a criminal investigation—when proceedings have not been completed, and there has therefore been no conviction—who has incurred a loss in respect of the confiscation and restraint procedure. It applies equally to confiscation and restraint, when either has taken place and subsequently been quashed. It covers both those contingencies.
In effect, the only redress available, in terms of compensation, is in a case of serious default by one of the named people under subsection (9). That covers the actions of a member of the police force, the Crown Prosecution Service or the Serious Fraud Office, Customs and Excise and of the commissioners of the Inland Revenue. I am not sure where the director comes in. The Minister may be able to tell me whether the director is intended to fall within one of those categories. In a number of the activities that might lead to compensation being claimed, the actions of the director or his financial investigators might be relevant. I look forward to the hon. Gentleman's explanation of how the compensation clauses will work.
There is a sense that we are discussing only serious default by the prosecutors, not serious default by those who have brought about the restraining or confiscation orders. That is the point that I wish to explore during the debate. I am conscious, Mr McWilliam, that I may be straying from the precise amendments into a clause stand part debate, and I have no objection to trying to roll the two together. The issues are extremely wide.