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Our client, Ellie*, sought O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors help after police charged her with holding the proceeds of crime. Ellie had a hearing confirmed for later in the year.
Earlier that year, police issued a search warrant for a Sydney premise where Ellie stayed. Ellie had never been in trouble with the law previously. In the front house, police found a bag with a large amount of cash in it. At the time of the search, no one was home initially. Therefore the police forced their way in to the property.
Charged with proceeds of crime offence
They found a mobile phone and searched it. The mobile belonged to her father*. They didn’t find anything on it. For a proceeds of crime charge to hold, the prosecution need to prove that the accused dealt with the property. In this case, her father’s name was down as the owner.
Furthermore, they must prove that she reasonably believed it was the proceeds of crime. The prosecution could argue that it is a large amount of money to have stashed away. However, they must also prove that she knew it was there. In this case, we argued that the police did not have sufficient evidence to prove she did know it was there. In addition, Ellie was not the only who had access to this address. She lived with her father and a few of her siblings. In addition, Ellie said other family members often visit the property.
Proceeds of crime lawyer, Sydney
We challenged the prosecution and stated that they were unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the bag was hers. As it was not just her living in the property, she had a possible defence.
On the day of the hearing, we resolved the matter for our client. They withdrew all charges.
What does the proceeds of crime mean?
A person charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime has held or otherwise dealt with property/cash that resulted from criminal activity. However, there must be reasonable grounds to believe that this person knew the property came from some sort of criminal activity. An example of proceeds of crime is transferring money that you knew came fraudulently from a bank account.
Dealing with the proceeds of crime is often connected to other types of crime. Therefore, it is important to seek legal advice straight away.
If you are facing criminal charges, please get in contact today. Our experienced criminal lawyers have dealt with multiple cases relating to charges for dealing with the proceeds of crime.
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