Policing and Crime Bill

House of Commons

Session 2008 - 09
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Policing and Crime Bill

Policing and Crime Bill
Part 4 — Proceeds of Crime
57

(1D)
The customs officer, constable or accredited financial investigator may,
so far as the officer, constable or investigator thinks it necessary or
expedient, require the suspect to—
(a)
permit entry to the vehicle,
(b)
permit a search of the vehicle.
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(1E)
Cash falls within this subsection if—
(a)
it is recoverable property or is intended by any person for use in
unlawful conduct, and
(b)
the amount of it is not less than the minimum amount.”
(3)
In subsection (4) for the words from “exercising” to the end substitute “may—
10
(a)
in exercising powers by virtue of subsection (1D), detain the
vehicle for so long as is necessary for their exercise,
(b)
in exercising powers by virtue of subsection (3)(b), detain the
suspect for so long as is necessary for their exercise.”
(4)
In subsection (5)(c) for the words from “premises” to the end substitute “the
15
following—
(i)
premises in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (in the
case of subsection (1)),
(ii)
vehicles and suspects in England, Wales or Northern
Ireland (in the case of subsections (1D) and (4)(a)),
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(iii)
suspects in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (in the
case of subsections (2), (3) and (4)(b)).”
45
Detention of seized cash
(1)
In section 295(2)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29) (period for which
court may authorise further detention of seized cash) for “three months”
25
substitute “six months”.
(2)
The amendment made by subsection (1) applies in relation to cash seized
before or after the commencement of this section.
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Forfeiture of detained cash
(1)
After section 297 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 insert—
30
“Forfeiture without court order
297A
Forfeiture notice
(1)
Subsection (2) applies while any cash is detained in pursuance of an
order under section 295(2) made by a magistrates’ court in England and
Wales or Northern Ireland.
35
(2)
A senior officer may give a notice for the purpose of forfeiting the cash
or any part of it if satisfied that the cash or part—
(a)
is recoverable property, or
(b)
is intended by any person for use in unlawful conduct.
(3)
The Secretary of State must make regulations about how a notice is to
40
be given.

Policing and Crime Bill
Part 4 — Proceeds of Crime
58

(4)
The regulations may provide—
(a)
for a notice to be given to such person or persons, and in such
manner, as may be prescribed;
(b)
for a notice to be given by publication in such manner as may be
prescribed;
5
(c)
for circumstances in which, and the time at which, a notice is to
be treated as having been given.
(5)
The regulations must ensure that where a notice is given it is, if
possible, given to every person to whom notice of an order under
section 295(2) in respect of the cash has been given.
10
(6)
A senior officer means—
(a)
an officer of Revenue and Customs of a rank designated by the
Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as
equivalent to that of a senior police officer,
(b)
a senior police officer, or
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(c)
an accredited financial investigator.
(7)
A senior police officer means a police officer of at least the rank of
inspector.
(8)
A notice under this section is referred to in this Chapter as a forfeiture
notice.
20
297B
Content
(1)
A forfeiture notice must—
(a)
state the amount of cash in respect of which it is given,
(b)
state when and where the cash was seized,
(c)
confirm that the senior officer is satisfied as mentioned in
25
section 297A(2),
(d)
specify a period for objecting to the proposed forfeiture and an
address to which any objections must be sent, and
(e)
explain that the cash will be forfeited unless an objection is
received at that address within the period for objecting.
30
(2)
The period for objecting must be at least 30 days starting with the day
after the notice is given.
297C
Effect
(1)
This section applies if a forfeiture notice is given in respect of any cash.
(2)
The cash is to be detained until—
35
(a)
the cash is forfeited under this section,
(b)
the notice lapses under this section, or
(c)
the cash is released under a power conferred by this Chapter.
(3)
If no objection is made within the period for objecting, and the notice
has not lapsed, the cash is forfeited (subject to section 297E).
40
(4)
If an objection is made within the period for objecting, the notice lapses.
(5)
If an application is made for the forfeiture of the whole or any part of
the cash under section 298, the notice lapses.

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Part 4 — Proceeds of Crime
59

(6)
If the cash or any part of it is released under a power conferred by this
Chapter, the notice lapses or (as the case may be) lapses in relation to
that part.
(7)
An objection may be made by anyone, whether a recipient of the notice
or not.
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(8)
An objection means a written objection sent to the address specified in
the notice; and an objection is made when it is received at the address.
(9)
An objection does not prevent forfeiture of the cash under section 298.
(10)
Nothing in this section affects the validity of an order under
section 295(2).
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297D
Detention following lapse of notice
(1)
This section applies if—
(a)
a forfeiture notice is given in respect of any cash,
(b)
the notice lapses under section 297C(4), and
(c)
the period for which detention of the cash was authorised under
15
section 295(2) has expired.
(2)
The cash may be detained for a further period of up to 48 hours
(calculated in accordance with section 295(1B)).
(3)
But if within that period the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue
and Customs, a constable or an accredited financial investigator
20
decides that neither of the applications mentioned in subsection (4)
ought to be made, the cash must be released.
(4)
The applications are—
(a)
an application for a further order under section 295(2);
(b)
an application for forfeiture of the cash under section 298.
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(5)
If within that period an application is made for a further order under
section 295(2) the cash may be detained until the application is
determined or otherwise disposed of.
297E
Application to set aside forfeiture
(1)
This section applies if any cash is forfeited in pursuance of a forfeiture
30
notice.
(2)
A person aggrieved by the forfeiture may apply to a magistrates’ court
in England and Wales or Northern Ireland for an order setting aside the
forfeiture of the cash or any part of it.
(3)
The application must be made before the end of the period of 30 days
35
starting with the day on which the period for objecting ended.
(4)
But the court may give permission for an application to be made after
the 30-day period has ended if it thinks that there are exceptional
circumstances to explain why the applicant—
(a)
failed to object to the forfeiture within the period for objecting,
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and
(b)
failed to make an application within the 30-day period.

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Part 4 — Proceeds of Crime
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(5)
On an application under this section the court must consider whether
the cash to which the application relates could be forfeited under
section 298 (ignoring the forfeiture mentioned in subsection (1) above).
(6)
If the court is satisfied that the cash to which the application relates or
any part of it could not be forfeited under that section it must set aside
5
the forfeiture of that cash or part.
(7)
Where the court sets aside the forfeiture of any cash—
(a)
it must order the release of that cash, and
(b)
that cash is to be treated as never having been forfeited.
297F
Release of cash subject to forfeiture notice
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(1)
This section applies while any cash is detained under section 297C
or 297D.
(2)
A magistrates' court may direct the release of the whole or any part of
the cash if the following condition is met.
(3)
The condition is that the court is not satisfied, on an application by the
15
person from whom the cash was seized, that the cash to be released—
(a)
is recoverable property, or
(b)
is intended by any person for use in unlawful conduct.
(4)
An officer of Revenue and Customs, constable or accredited financial
investigator may release the cash or any part of it if satisfied that the
20
detention of the cash to be released is no longer justified.
297G
Application of forfeited cash
(1)
Cash forfeited in pursuance of a forfeiture notice, and any accrued interest on
it, is to be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
(2)
But it is not to be paid in—
25
(a)
before the end of the period within which an application under
section 297E may be made (ignoring the possibility of an
application by virtue of section 297E(4)), or
(b)
if an application is made within that period, before the
application is determined or otherwise disposed of.”
30
(2)
In section 298(1) of that Act (forfeiture by court order) after “section 295” insert
“, 297C or 297D”.
(3)
In section 299(4) of that Act (appeal against forfeiture order: release of cash) for
“order the release of the cash” substitute “order the release of the whole or any
part of the cash”.
35
(4)
In section 297A(1) of that Act (inserted by subsection (1) above) the reference
to an order includes an order made before the commencement of this section.
Detained cash investigations
47
Transfer of jurisdiction to Crown Court
(1)
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29) is amended as follows.
40
(2)
In section 343 (judges)—

Policing and Crime Bill
Part 5 — Extradition
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(a)
in subsection (2) for “or a money laundering investigation” substitute “,
a money laundering investigation or a detained cash investigation”,
and
(b)
in subsection (3) omit “or a detained cash investigation”.
(3)
In section 344 (courts)—
5
(a)
in paragraph (a) for “or a money laundering investigation” substitute “,
a money laundering investigation or a detained cash investigation”,
and
(b)
in paragraph (b) omit “or a detained cash investigation”.
(4)
In section 350 (government departments), in subsection (5)—
10
(a)
in paragraph (a) for “or a money laundering investigation” substitute “,
a money laundering investigation or a detained cash investigation”,
and
(b)
in paragraph (b) omit “or a detained cash investigation”.
(5)
In section 351 (supplementary provisions in connection with production
15
orders and orders to grant entry), in subsection (8) omit “or a detained cash
investigation”.
(6)
In section 355 (further provisions: confiscation and money laundering), in
subsection (1)(a) for “or a money laundering investigation” substitute “, a
money laundering investigation or a detained cash investigation”.
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(7)
In section 356 (further provisions: civil recovery and detained cash)—
(a)
in the title omit “and detained cash”,
(b)
in subsection (1) omit “or detained cash investigations”,
(c)
in subsection (10) for “if the appropriate person has reasonable”
substitute “if an appropriate officer has reasonable”, and
25
(d)
omit subsections (11) and (12).
Part 5
Extradition
Alerts
48
Article 26 alerts
30
For section 204 of the Extradition Act 2003 (c. 41) (Part 1 warrant: transmission
by other electronic means) substitute—
“204
Warrant issued by category 1 territory: transmission by other
electronic means
(1)
This section applies if—
35
(a)
an arrest warrant is issued by an authority of a category 1
territory in a case in which an article 26 alert is issued,
(b)
the information contained in the warrant and the alert are
transmitted to the designated authority by electronic means,
and
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(c)
that information is received by the designated authority in a
qualifying form.

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Part 5 — Extradition
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(2)
This section also applies if—
(a)
an arrest warrant is issued by an authority of a category 1
territory in a case in which no article 26 alert is issued,
(b)
the information contained in the warrant is transmitted to the
designated authority by electronic means, and
5
(c)
that information is received by the designated authority in a
qualifying form.
(3)
The reference in section 2(2) to an arrest warrant issued by a judicial
authority of a category 1 territory is to be read as if it were a reference
to the information received by the designated authority.
10
(4)
The references in section 63(1) to an arrest warrant are to be read as if
they were references to the information received by the designated
authority.
(5)
For the purposes of subsection (1), a reference to the information
contained in the article 26 alert includes a reference to any information
15
sent with that information relating to the case in question.
(6)
For the purposes of this section—
(a)
an article 26 alert is an alert issued pursuant to article 26 of the
Council Decision on the establishment, operation and use of the
second generation Schengen Information System of 12
20
December 2006,
(b)
references to information being transmitted by electronic means
do not include facsimile transmission, and
(c)
information is received in a qualifying form if it is received in a
form in which it is intelligible and which is capable of being
25
used for subsequent reference.”
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Article 95 alerts
(1)
Section 212 of Extradition Act 2003 (c. 41) (the title to which becomes “Article
95 alerts”) is amended as follows.
(2)
For subsections (1) and (2) substitute—
30
“(1)
This section applies in a case where an article 95 alert is issued at the
request of an authority of a category 1 territory.
(2)
The reference in section 2(2) to an arrest warrant issued by a judicial
authority of a category 1 territory is to be read—
(a)
as if it were a reference to the alert issued at the request of the
35
authority, and
(b)
as if the alert included any information sent with it which
relates to the case.
(2A)
The references in section 63(1) to an arrest warrant are to be read in
accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) above.”
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(3)
In subsection (3) for “As applied by” substitute “In consequence of”.