These amendments reverse a series of amendments which I proposed on Committee Stage arising out of a Government decision to deal with the amendment of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, in the Illicit Traffic by Sea Bill, to which they were more relevant. However, the events of 11 September in the United States of America resulted in greater urgency being given to the fight against terrorism and associated money laundering. In order to be able to respond to this worldwide effort to defeat terrorism, it was decided that these changes to the 1994 Act should be reinserted in the Bill, as the Illicit Traffic by Sea Bill is unlikely to be enacted before the end of the year.
Amendment No. 11 is the principal amendment among this group of amendments. Its purpose is to substitute a new section for section 31 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, setting out a revised offence of money laundering. The main difference between the new section 31 and the current section 31 is the introduction of the concept of recklessness in the offence. The new section is long, but I will endeavour to set out the main elements.
Subsection (1) contains the elements of the offence of money laundering. It provides that a person will be guilty of money laundering in certain circumstances. These are that the person knows or believes, or is reckless about whether property is or represents criminal proceeds, and the person, without lawful authority or excuse, then acts in relation to the property by, for example, converting, transferring or handling it intending to conceal or disguise its true nature, source or ownership or helping another person to avoid prosecution or to avoid the making of a confiscation order, concealing or disguising its true nature, source or ownership, or acquiring, possessing or using the property.
Where a person does any of these things in such circumstances that it is reasonable to conclude that he or she knew or believed, or was reckless about whether, the property was criminal proceeds, he or she will be taken to have known or believed, or been reckless, unless the court or the jury is satisfied otherwise.
A person will be considered to be reckless for this purpose if he or she disregarded a substantial risk that the property was the proceeds of criminal conduct. A substantial risk in this context means a risk of such a nature and degree that, having regard to the circumstances, its disregard involves culpability of a high degree.
The section also sets out what is meant by converting, transferring or handling property, what is covered by the reference to believing that property is or represents criminal proceeds and what such proceeds are deemed to constitute as well as what is meant by handling such property. There is provision for the admissibility of documentary evidence.
The penalty for an offence under this section will be a fine of £1,500 and up to 12 months imprisonment, or both, following summary conviction, or an unlimited fine, or up to 14 years imprisonment, or both, following conviction on indictment.
Amendments Nos. 8 and 18 are consequential on amendment No. 3 and merely include reference to the new section 31 in sections 16 and 37 of the Bill which refer to money laundering.
Amendment No. 12 provides, in effect, that reference to an offence in Parts 4 or 7 of the 1994 Act, dealing with money laundering and international co-operation respectively, will be construed as reference to a revenue offence, that is, an offence in connection with taxes, duties or exchange control.
