Clause 72 - Serious default
Proceeds of Crime Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Paul Stinchcombe (Wellingborough, Labour)
Perhaps I may seek clarification from the Minister about some of my residual concerns, which are similar to those of the hon. Member for Beaconsfield, about how the clause would work and why it does not contain certain provisions. I can readily appreciate why the people who are identified in subsection (9) are identified. That flows directly from the conditions set out in the clause. However, that seems to leave room for injustice when a prosecution or investigation is rightly brought, restraint happens, but loss is occasioned thereafter because of further serious default later in the process. Why is that not covered by this statutory code, instead of being dealt with under other civil proceedings, given that we have the opportunity to put it in the code?
Subsection (1) seems to help the Minister in that it would enable the court to reduce the compensation to a lower level in any event if the person's conduct brought those proceedings on his own head. Given that protection, would it not be worth revisiting the clause at a later stage, to consider whether other serious defaults in the process, which could lead to loss, might not also usefully be covered?