Clause 78 - Gifts and their recipients
Proceeds of Crime Bill
5:15 pm
Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield, Conservative)
Yes, but let us reread subsection (1), because the hon. Gentleman may be right, but I am not sure that I follow his point. It states:
''If the defendant transfers property to another person for a consideration whose value is significantly less than the value of the property at the time the defendant obtained it, he is to be treated as making a gift.''
Let us take an example. A defendant obtains £1 million as the proceeds of crime. On the advice of Sotheby's, he purchases a painting that he believes is worth £1 million. It is subsequently discovered that the painting is not a Rembrandt but a copy and he sells it for £100,000 to a third party. The third party has the bona fide belief that £100,000 is the painting's true value. Indeed, that may well be the painting's true market value at the time that it is sold. The third party falls liable to reimburse the balance of £900,000 to the director on confiscation.