This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Latest civil recovery success
15/06/2004
The Lord Advocate, Colin Boyd QC, has today welcomed the
latest civil recovery success. At the Court of Session in
Edinburgh, a judge ordered that over £165,000 of suspected
drugs money be paid over to Scottish Minister. This is the
largest single amount recovered anywhere in the UK so far
under the civil recovery provisions of the Proceeds of
Crime Act, and follows legal proceedings taken by the Civil
Recovery Unit of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
Service, acting on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
The money, which had been invested in bonds and bank
accounts, by Alexander Allison, aged 57, from Stranraer,
was frozen under the Proceeds of Crime Act, last year.
Scottish Ministers had claimed in their legal action that
the money was the proceeds of the drug dealing activities
of two of his sons, both of whom are serving lengthy prison
sentences for drug related crimes. Allison settled the
legal action out of court
Mr Boyd said:
"Recovering over £165,000 of suspected drugs money sends
a clear signal to communities throughout Scotland that we
will use all the powers available to recover the profits of
crime.
"This is the largest single amount obtained under civil
recovery anywhere in the UK so far. I am pleased that once
again Scotland is in the lead. More importantly we are
sending a clear signal that we will with our colleagues in
the police track down, and recover the proceeds of
crime"
The successful recovery followed a civil action taken by
the CRU under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). Prior
to the introduction of the Act in 2003, only those
convicted of a criminal offence could have assets
confiscated.
In a separate action at Peterhead Sheriff Court, a
Sheriff has, last week, rejected the first challenge to the
Proceeds of Crime Act's cash seizure powers.
Mr Twasir Ali, (77) from Peterhead opposed the seizure
of £13,614 in cash which was believed to be the proceeds of
bootlegging. The Sheriff accepted Mr Ali's explanation of a
proportion of the sum seized, but was satisfied that
£10,000 was proven to be the proceeds of crime.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) came into force
early in 2003. POCA makes provision for a civil recovery
scheme, whereby the proceeds of unlawful conduct are
recoverable, and an enhanced cash forfeiture scheme. The
Scottish Ministers institute civil recovery proceedings.
The Civil Recovery Unit is responsible for the
implementation of civil recovery and cash forfeiture in
Scotland. The Lord Advocate is the Scottish Minister
responsible for the operation of the Unit.
The CRU started its investigation into this case in
September 2003 following the Crown's decision not to
proceed with a prosecution for money laundering offences.
The CRU obtained an order from the Court of Session on 4
November 2003, freezing assets held. An interim
administrator was appointed, who reported to the Court on
whether those assets had been obtained through unlawful
conduct. During the process of reporting, settlement terms
were agreed.
From April 2003 - March 2004, £687,652.95 has been
forfeited following action by the Civil Recovery Unit,
COPFS on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.