What are criminal assets?
Criminal assets can be anything acquired through criminal activity, some examples include:
- money
- residential property
- commercial and industrial property
- motor vehicles, marine vessels, planes and helicopters
- jewellery
- artwork
- luxury items
- cryptocurrency.
Our role
In its capacity as the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (OT), AFSA has a special role to play. The OT manages and disposes of these assets according to a law called the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) (POCA).
Asset management process
The Commissioner of the AFP seeks 2 primary orders over criminal assets from the Court:
- Restraining orders – gives the OT custody and control over assets but not 'ownership'.
- Forfeiture orders – Ownership of assets transfers to the Commonwealth. The OT then sells or otherwise disposes of the assets.
For restrained assets, the OT’s role is to preserve the assets pursuant to the POCA and Court orders.
For forfeited assets, the OT's role is to sell or otherwise dispose of the assets.
The OT uses specialist skills to fulfil its duties that include:
- Preserving assets – the OT keeps the assets safe and maintains their condition.
- Selling Assets – if the Court grants forfeiture orders, the OT sells the assets. The OT deposits the proceeds of these sales into the Confiscated Assets Account (CAA).
- Helping Communities – the CAA funds community safety and crime prevention programs.
The OT also needs to consider:
- Cost/Benefit – in some cases, it costs more money to take care of an asset than it is worth. Here, the OT can ask the court for permission to sell an asset while the court case happens.
- Public Interest – for the public good, the OT can destroy certain assets. For example, the OT will destroy counterfeit items because selling them may break the law.
Our partner agencies
The AFP investigates crimes under Commonwealth jurisdiction and litigates against criminals in court.
The AFP also leads the inter-agency Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT).
The CACT supports these investigations and includes:
- Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
- Australian Taxation Office
- Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)
- Australian Border Force.
More about Criminal Assets Management
AFSA’s annual report has more about what the OT does with criminal assets and its future plans. Read the report at the link below.