This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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First £1 million criminal confiscation
10/02/2003
The largest confiscation of proceeds of crime in
Scotland was made today by the Crown Office and Procurator
Fiscal Service (COPFS) with a court order to confiscate
£1,080,622 from Iain Cowper (56) who was convicted of
embezzlement in August 2002.
Cowper was convicted of embezzling more than £2.3
million from his employers the Thomson Travel Group. He
purchased hotel beds for holiday-makers on behalf of the
Group and duly invoiced them, but then banked the cheques
intended for the hoteliers, in his own account.
Cowper today received a sentence of five years
imprisonment at Edinburgh High Court.
The Crown served a confiscation order for £1,080,622
representing the personal benefit to Cowper from his
embezzlement. He will be given a period of six months to
pay.
The previous largest confiscation was for £422,780
on December 15, 2000, from a Robert Jones for a Customs
& Excise fraud.
In January 2003 the COPFS established a Criminal
Confiscation Unit and a new Civil Recovery Unit. The Units
were created to enable COPFS to gear up for the
implementation of tougher powers of confiscation and
seizure of criminal proceeds coming into force during
February and March of this year following a change in the
law under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
In November 2002 the COPFS was awarded £98,000 from the
UK Recovered Assets Fund, dedicated to the training of
Scottish prosecutors and police in the use of the new
powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 builds upon the criminal
confiscation scheme set out in the Proceeds of Crime Act
(Scotland) Act 1995 and consolidates and strengthens money
laundering offences. Extended powers of financial
investigation are also afforded to law enforcement
officers.
The Act makes provision for a civil recovery scheme,
whereby the proceeds of unlawful conduct are recoverable,
and an enhanced cash forfeiture scheme. The Scottish
Ministers will institute civil recovery proceedings and the
Civil Recovery Unit will be responsible for the
implementation of civil recovery and cash forfeiture in
Scotland. The Lord Advocate will be the Scottish Minister
responsible for the operation of the Unit. The cash
forfeiture provisions came into force on December 31, 2002,
and civil recovery on February 24, 2003.