R v S Leicester Crown Court

Ryan Downes of Askews Legal LLP represented SS within his POCA proceedings before Leicester Crown Court.

The Crown initially sought a benefit figure of £9,598,078.16 which was made up from Particular Criminal Conduct of £9,197,367.39 and £400,710.77 of General Criminal Conduct. The available figure sought by the Crown was £9,598,078.16 which consisted of two properties that the crown deemed SS had the majority equitable interest within and hidden assets.

Following having instructed Allen Morgan from Allen Morgan Associates (Drug Expert) and upon receipt of his report setting out his findings in respect to the prosecutions Particular Criminal Conduct figure, a detailed section 17 staement was prepared addressing the finsings of Allen Morgan accompanied with relevant case law and legal arguments addressing proportionality. Further submissions were advanced addressing the prosecutions assessment of available assets wherein it was argued that SS had no interest in either property and that his ex-wife held the entirety of the beneficial interest in both properties. The Crown were asked within section 17 statement to invite SS ex-wife to be an interested third party to the proceedings pursuant to section 10A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in order for her to provide the required representations in respect to her interests in the properties.

In respect to the Crowns assertion of hidden assets in the amount of £9,542,622.11 stringent rebuttal arguments were advanced within section 17 statement again referencing the relevant supporting case law and legal arguments.

Following the Crown having undertaken some further investigations they eventually conceded and reduced SS benefit figure to £7,057,130.25 which took into condsideration the findings of Allen Morgan. The Crown urther accepted that SS held no interest in the twp properties and duly dropped the initial hidden assets assertion, Consequently, agreeing to a nominal order of £1.