Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the letter by Lord Bates to Lord Rosser on 8 January (DEP2016–0028) and the remarks by Lords Bates on 18 January (HL Deb, col 624), which immigration offences led, following conviction, to the forfeiture of assets totalling £966,024 in 2014–15; and how much was forfeited in total for each offence.
Answer
There were 16 confiscation orders amounting to £966,024, these are broken down to the following offences.
Offence | Amount |
Forgery and Counterfeiting | £162,997.55 |
Facilitation investigation | £10,665.95 |
Sham Marriage - assisting unlawful immigration | £85,519.29 |
Fraud and Money Laundering | £2.00 |
Conspiracy to Facilitate a Breach of Immigration Law | £25,466.62 |
Conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration | £330,352.72 |
Fraud by false representation | £1,020.32 |
Assisting Unlawful Immigration into the UK | £350,000.00 |
In the case of Money Laundering, the small total is because of nominal confiscation orders. A nominal confiscation order for a small amount (such as £1), may be imposed where the court finds that the defendant has benefitted from his criminal conduct, but has no realisable assets. If circumstances change then the order can be revisited.