In Brief
The Value of the Proceeds of Crime
When assessing the value of something for the purposes of making a confiscation order, the way the figure is arrived at is of importance, not least to the criminal whose assets are being seized. In a recent decision, the court ruled that for the purposes of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the value attributable to an asset is the amount it would have cost to acquire it legitimately, not the amount for which the criminal could have sold it.
This is important because it means that the value of assets to be confiscated from a criminal (say in a case of stolen valuables) is not the value for which they could be ‘fenced’ but the amount it would have cost to buy them in the first place.
Partner Note
R v Rose; R v Witham [2008] EWCA Crim 239, All ER (D) 314.