CRIME BARONS FACE SEIZURE OF ASSETS

New measures for seizing the assets of "untouchable" crime barons in
Scotland and the rest of the UK were outlined in a bill published yesterday.

Ministers in Scotland and England said the proposals in the proceeds of
crime bill were designed to curtail the lavish lifestyles of the country's
"Mr Bigs" and prevent future crime.

Measures in the bill include extending the right to seize the assets of
drug dealers to those involved in other criminal activities and allowing
the recovery of assets through the civil courts for those suspected, but
not convicted, of a crime.

The latter power has been criticised by civil liberty groups as contrary to
the central principle of "innocent until proven guilty". It would be
possible because the burden of proof in civil courts - a balance of
probabilities - is less stringent than that in a criminal case, which must
be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Other proposals in the bill included measures to tax income from crime.
Money laundering loopholes would be closed and investigatory powers
strengthened. The bill added that tougher disclosure requirements would be
imposed on third parties, such as financial institutions. Customs officers
would be given enhanced search powers.

Jim Wallace, the justice minister, said the bill covered the whole of the
UK, with some minor adjustments in Scotland.

He said: "Make no mistake, this is the bill the crime barons and their
associates have been dreading. Many major criminal figures have become
untouchable by criminal prosecution."

He added that the new arrangements were intended to strengthen and
harmonise the present weak system of "confused and convoluted" laws on
criminal confiscation

In recent years, confiscation orders imposed by Scottish courts have
amounted to less than UKP1m a year, but Mr Wallace said the profits from
crime in Scotland probably amounted to "hundreds of millions".

The executive said it would not set specific targets for levels of asset
confiscation. However, George Foulkes, Scotland Office minister, said the
measures could lead to the confiscation of UKP6m worth of assets a year in
Scotland.

The Home Office said it hoped to increase income from UKP25m a year to
UKP60m by 2004.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the assets of convicted criminals
would be seized by a new assets recovery agency, with the Crown Office
responsible in Scotland. An eight-strong team is also expected to staff a
civil recovery unit at the Crown Office.

Civil recovery would only be pursued for sums of UKP10,000 or more. Four or
five such cases are expected in Scotland annually, with about 20 in the
rest of the UK.

The executive and the Treasury are discussing a formula by which some of
the assets recovered in Scotland could be spent by the Scottish Parliament,
with the fight against drugs a prime candidate for receiving that cash.

Police have identified about 400 major crime bosses in the UK whose wealth
totals UKP440m, about half of which is in the hands of just 39 individuals.

An estimated 2% of the UK's gross domestic product, totalling UKP18bn,
comes from crime, approximately half of which is from the drugs underworld.

Ministers are confident the bill, which complements this week's
anti-terrorism legislation, complies with the European Convention on Human
Rights. In February, the privy council paved the way for the new bill by
allowing assets to be seized from Robert McIntosh, a Greenock heroin dealer.

However, the civil rights group, Liberty, and the Scottish Human Rights
Centre expressed concern that the bill threatened the innocent and
undermined "core standards of criminal justice", in other words, the
presumption of innocence.

The executive will lay a so-called "Sewel" motion before the Scottish
Parliament next week asking it to allow Westminster to legislate on
devolved matters. The bill will receive a second reading in the House of
Commons on October 30.