Jonathan Kinnear QC in success in Court of Appeal Civil Division

The Civil Division of the Court of Appeal today handed down judgment in the case of Syed Ahmed v CPS.  The case involved a technical point of law relating to whether the High Court was entitled to appoint an Enforcement Receiver in respect of certain pension polices held in Mr Ahmed’s name.  Mr Ahmed challenged the order on the basis that the pensions have as yet no realisable value and will not have any for a number of years.  The Court concluded that the polices are “realisable assets” under the terms of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, that they were properly included in the original confiscation order, given that no value was attributed to them, and that they were properly included in the High Court’s order.

This is the latest instalment in the long running litigation involving the confiscation of millions of pounds of assets from Mr Ahmed and his co-defendants following their conviction for Conspiracy to Cheat the Revenue in respect of a Missing Trader Intra-Community VAT fraud.