Court seizes funds from man cleared of drug trafficking
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The Court of Session in Edinburgh ordered the Aberdeen man’s entire bank balance to be transferred to the state after ruling that he had probably made the money peddling drugs. A High Court acquitted the 34-year-old man of drug trafficking in December 2002 but the Civil Recovery Unit (CRU) set up by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) used new powers to begin investigating the man last summer. It found that he had made regular deposits totalling £45,970 between 1998 and 2001 while on benefits and with no other known legitimate income. The Court of Session last week accepted the CRU’s claim that, on the balance of probabilities, the money held at the bank represented the profits of drug trafficking, after the man failed to account for the large sum. Scots criminals have lost more than £1.6 million of assets under POCA’s tough powers, but the latest ruling is the first in the UK using the legislation’s new civil courts recovery procedures. When the legislation was passed the Treasury agreed to allow half of all the cash seized under Act to be retained by the Executive, which says it is using the money on initiatives to help tackle drug issues and in communities scarred by serious and organised crime. While Nationalists argue that all cash recovered in Scotland should remain north of the border, the Executive says many of the seizures involve UK-wide agencies such as Customs, but ministers are understood to be pushing for an increased share. More : timesonline.co.uk |