Civil Litigation Solicitors

A man who allowed his bank account to be used to lodge funds that amounted to criminal property was guilty of the crime of converting criminal property.

So held the Court of Appeal, dismissing Mohammed Fazal’s appeal against convictions at Reading Crown Court for seven offences under Section 327 (which deals with the concealing or transferring of criminal property generally) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).

Mr Fazal’s account had been used to deposit and withdraw the proceeds of fraudulent transactions. The money had been taken from the victims of an online fraud, whereby goods had been paid for but not delivered. Mr Fazal had denied knowledge of the fraud.

The appeal was lodged on the grounds that there had been no act of ‘conversion’ by Mr Fazal, only by others. It was accepted that there might have been an offence under Section 328 (which deals with facilitating arrangements for someone else without informing the authorities) of the POCA but no such charge had been made.

It was the judgment of the Court of Appeal that conduct amounting to an offence under Section 328 of the POCA also amounted to an offence under Section 327. It was further held that where funds were credited to a defendant’s account, retained and withdrawn from it with the approval, authority and cooperation of the defendant, those acts amounted to successive acts of converting criminal property.

For these reasons the appeal was dismissed.

This case gives a clear indication that great care must be taken when handling third party funds, particularly when the sums are large and the provenance questionable.