Legal and Confiscations
The Legal and Confiscations Division supports the NSW Crime Commission’s functions under the Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990 (CAR Act).
The NSW Crime Commission sues people in the NSW Supreme Court to recover proceeds of crime that have been derived from their own criminal activity or other people’s crimes. The process usually involves the NSW Crime Commission making an application for a restraining order to prevent dealings with a defendant’s interests in property or other assets.
The Legal and Confiscations Division works to maximise realisable confiscation outcomes and resolves the vast majority of proceedings by the court making final orders with the consent of the parties as a result of a negotiated settlement. In recent years, Legal and Confiscations has successfully confiscated cash and assets worth many millions of dollars, returning the proceeds to the state of NSW.
The NSW Crime Commission employs expert forensic accountants, financial analysts and legal staff, who conduct all of the investigative and legal work associated with the proceedings. Unlike other jurisdictions in Australia, the NSW Crime Commission conducts all aspects of the administration of the CAR Act, from the identification of appropriate persons against whom to commence proceedings through to, in the majority of cases, the recovery of the confiscation order.
As organised criminal groups are usually motivated by money, Legal and Confiscations plays an important role in disrupting their activities. The Legal and Confiscations Division provides expert forensic accounting assistance to the Operations Division , with teams working together and sharing intelligence.