Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many estate agents have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for high-end money laundering by the (i) Serious Fraud Office and (ii) Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 2014.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Sections 327, 328, 329 and 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 create provisions to deal with offences of money laundering. The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions and convictions under POCA where money laundering is the principal offence. There is no legal definition or specific criminal offence of “high end” money laundering. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of defendants prosecuted for, and convicted of these offences. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
CPS holds limited information on the number of offences which were charged and which reached a first hearing in the Magistrates Court. This does not equate to the number of defendants charged as single defendant may be charged with more than one offence. The figures for the period since 2014 are provided in the table below.
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 |
Sections 327 to 330 - Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 | 4,542 | 4,866 | 4,813 |
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has prosecuted four individuals for money laundering offences since 2014. Two of these prosecutions resulted in a successful conviction in 2018.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many accountants have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for high-end money laundering by the (i) Serious Fraud Office and (ii) Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 2014.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Sections 327, 328, 329 and 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 create provisions to deal with offences of money laundering. The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions and convictions under POCA where money laundering is the principal offence. There is no legal definition or specific criminal offence of “high end” money laundering. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of defendants prosecuted for, and convicted of these offences. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
CPS holds limited information on the number of offences which were charged and which reached a first hearing in the Magistrates Court. This does not equate to the number of defendants charged as single defendant may be charged with more than one offence. The figures for the period since 2014 are provided in the table below.
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 |
Sections 327 to 330 - Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 | 4,542 | 4,866 | 4,813 |
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has prosecuted four individuals for money laundering offences since 2014. Two of these prosecutions resulted in a successful conviction in 2018. One of the two people who was prosecuted but acquitted was a qualified accountant.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many lawyers have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted by the (i) the Serious Fraud Office and (ii) Crown Prosecution Service for high-end money laundering in each year since 2014.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Sections 327, 328, 329 and 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 create provisions to deal with offences of money laundering. The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions and convictions under POCA where money laundering is the principal offence. There is no legal definition or specific criminal offence of “high end” money laundering. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of defendants prosecuted for, and convicted of these offences. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
CPS holds limited information on the number of offences which were charged and which reached a first hearing in the Magistrates Court. This does not equate to the number of defendants charged as single defendant may be charged with more than one offence. The figures for the period since 2014 are provided in the table below.
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 |
Sections 327 to 330 - Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 | 4,542 | 4,866 | 4,813 |
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has prosecuted four individuals for money laundering offences since 2014. Two of these prosecutions resulted in a successful conviction in 2018. One of the two individuals unsuccessfully prosecuted was legally qualified.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have been achieved by the (i) Serious Fraud Office and (ii) Crown Prosecution Service for high-end money laundering in each year since 2014.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Sections 327, 328, 329 and 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 create provisions to deal with offences of money laundering. The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions and convictions under POCA where money laundering is the principal offence. There is no legal definition or specific criminal offence of “high end” money laundering. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of defendants prosecuted for, and convicted of these offences. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
CPS holds limited information on the number of offences which were charged and which reached a first hearing in the Magistrates Court. This does not equate to the number of defendants charged as single defendant may be charged with more than one offence. The figures for the period since 2014 are provided in the table below.
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 |
Sections 327 to 330 - Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 | 4,542 | 4,866 | 4,813 |
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has prosecuted four individuals for money laundering offences since 2014. Two of these prosecutions resulted in a successful conviction in 2018. One of the two individuals unsuccessfully prosecuted was legally qualified.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the change in the CPS charging, prosecution and conviction rates related to cases of rape since 2016-17.
Answered by Robert Buckland
There are a number of factors that have contributed to the recent falls in the volume of suspects charged, prosecuted and convicted of rape. The 2017-18 Violence Against Women and Girls report highlighted a 9.1% fall in referrals of rape flagged cases from the police to the CPS and work is being undertaken to understand the reasons behind this trend. Prosecutors are increasingly using the process of Early Investigative Advice to work with the police early to see what can be done to strengthen the prosecution when it is needed.
Rape investigations are becoming increasingly complex due to a number of factors, including the growth in relevant digital communications evidence. To address the increasing complexity of cases the CPS have introduced new guidance to help police and prosecutors with reasonable lines of inquiry and communications evidence. There has also been a significant recruitment exercise, which was completed to ensure that RASSO units were equipped to meet the substantial increase in the volume of case referrals from the police. Between July 2015 and October 2018, the number of specialist prosecutors in RASSO units rose by 52% from 138 to 210, with overall staffing in these units increasing by more than a third.
There has been no change of approach or guidance to CPS prosecutors in their commitment towards the prosecution of rape offences. The CPS has undertaken extensive work over the last decade to ensure that specialist prosecutors are fully equipped to deal with the particular complexities of rape and serious sexual offences and that the Code for Crown Prosecutors is properly applied. This includes understanding victim vulnerabilities and the impact of rape, as well as consent, myths and stereotypes, and the particular difficulties of cases involving vulnerable witnesses and young people. In 2018-19 the CPS plans to embark upon a project to better understand the evolving nature of sexual behaviours and encounters amongst young people as there are particular challenges in cases involving young adults.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have been made by the Crown Prosecution Service under (i) Section 330 and (ii) Sections 327-329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office. Official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
The number of prosecutions and convictions for offences under sections 327-330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 can be found here.
Number of prosecutions and convictions for offences under sections 327-330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, 2013-2017 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|
Prosecutions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Section 327 | 981 | 880 | 1,063 | 841 | 878 |
|
Section 328 | 310 | 266 | 317 | 355 | 288 |
|
Section 329 | 1,050 | 944 | 921 | 797 | 737 |
|
Section 330 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Convictions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Section 327 | 520 | 447 | 550 | 601 | 537 |
|
Section 328 | 213 | 150 | 188 | 257 | 225 |
|
Section 329 | 527 | 541 | 594 | 567 | 581 |
|
Section 330 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
|
(1) The figures given in the pivot table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. |
(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. |
(3) A defendant who appears before both magistrates’ court and Crown Court may not do so within the same year, meaning for a given year convictions may exceed prosecutions or sentences may not equal convictions. Defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court. |
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions have been initiated by the (a) Crown Prosecution Service and (b) Serious Fraud Office against corporate bodies for offences committed under (i) section 327-329 and (ii) section 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2017.
Answered by Robert Buckland
This answer is based on reference having been intended to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 rather than 2017.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of prosecutions against corporate bodies for offences committed under (i) section 327-329 and (ii) section 330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Nor is it possible to identify whether the defendant was a corporate body. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
The SFO has not prosecuted any cases under these sections of the 2002 Act.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127856 on money laundering, how many of those businesses have been fined more than once; and what the (a) average, (b) lowest and (c) highest value of those fines was.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The work of the FCA is a matter for HMT. Officials at HMT have advised that in January 2017, the FCA fined Deutsche Bank £163 million, its largest ever financial penalty for AML failings.
All FCA fines levied against businesses are published online. The link to the webpage can be found below:
www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/2017-fines
HMT does not hold data on how many firms have been fined more than once, the lowest fine, nor the average value of fines.