Ramzan & Ors, R v [2006] EWCA Crim 1974

"(2) A person is guilty of an offence if, knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect that any property is, or in whole or in part directly or indirectly represents, another person's proceeds of drug trafficking, he - - (a) conceals or disguises that property, or (b) converts or transfers that property or removes it from the jurisdiction, for the purpose of assisting any person to avoid prosecution for a drug trafficking offence or the making or enforcement of a confiscation order."

" . . . knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect that . . . [the money] represented another person's proceeds of [illicit conduct]."

"I intend to launder money which will be the proceeds of crime"

"(34) Counsel further submitted that by pleading guilty the appellant accepted he had the requisite purpose. By his plea he accepted all the ingredients of the charged offence with the one exception of knowledge. Thus he accepted that he intended to convert the banknotes for the purpose of assisting another to avoid prosecution for a criminal offence etc. That state of mind, it was submitted, is consistent only with the appellant knowing the money represented the proceeds of crime. (35) Again I cannot agree. I readily accept that, evidentially and inferentially, it is a short step from proof that the Defendant's purpose was to assist someone to avoid prosecution to a conclusion that the Defendant was aware the property had an illicit provenance. But that it an evidential inference. That step cannot properly be taken on the basis of a qualified plea which expressly proceeds on the footing of suspicion only."

"(54) The second requirement, as to what the purpose was, is where the essence of the mens rea of the offence is to be found. It must be proved that the defendant's purpose was to launder the proceeds of another person's criminal conduct. If he knows the criminal origin of the property, his knowledge is linked to his purpose in engaging in the activity. If he had reasonable grounds to suspect that it had a criminal origin, his suspicion is linked to his purpose in the same way. Proof of what his purpose was will usually have to be found by drawing inferences. Evidence that the defendant knew or had reasonable grounds to suspect will usually be sufficient to show what his purpose was when, knowing or suspecting what the origin of the property was, he actually engaged in the prescribed activity."

"(118) . . . Does someone in the appellant's position, suspecting the property they are about to launder to be hot, 'intend or know' that in fact it is hot? Clearly they do not 'know' it - - at any rate on the facts of this case where the substantive offence expressly differentiates between the two states of mind, knowledge and suspicion, and the guilty plea is tendered and accepted explicitly on the basis of suspicion only. But did the appellant intend the property to be hot? (119) I should say at this stage that the problem arising here is not one that arises in the context of handling offences. Handling is committed by those who know or believe that the goods are stolen. True, the offence is not committed if the goods, albeit believed stolen, in fact prove not to be. But if an agreement is made to handle goods believed to be stolen I for my part would have little difficulty in concluding for the purposes of section 1(2) of the 1977 Act that the conspirators intended or knew that they would be stolen. Section 1(2) looks to the future so that the putative conspirator's state of mind is in any event better described as belief than as knowledge - - a point well made by Hooper LJ in R v Liaquat Ali and others [2005] EWCA Crim 87, [2005] 2 Cr.App.R 864 (at para 98). One can never be certain that goods that are to come into one's possession at a future time will be stolen but a firm belief can be held and that is sufficient. (120) The present case, however, is different. To suspect something to be so is by no means to believe it to be so: it is to believe only that it may be so."

"(78) Can it be said that he intends that it should be A, when he does not know what he will be dealing with? Solving this problem is not easy because the word 'intend' in section 1(2) refers to the existence of a fact or a circumstance, not to the consequences of giving effect to the agreement. But the words 'shall or will' indicate that nothing short of intention or knowledge as to its existence will do. (79) I think that the answer to this question will depend on the facts. It could be said of Y that he knows enough about the purpose of the transaction because of the grounds for his suspicion for it not to matter whether he will be able to tell by looking at the cash that it is in fact the proceeds of crime. It may be open to the Crown to prove that Y knew very well what the purpose of the agreement was - - that he knew that the cash was to be converted to assist someone to avoid prosecution for an offence or the making or enforcement of a confiscation order, which is what section 93C(2) refers to. It might be going too far to say that he knew that the cash would be A when he came to deal with it. But it could be inferred that he intended that the cash would be A, because he knew that that was the only purpose of the transaction."

"In should be clearly understood, and this Court wants to make it even more abundantly clear, that the fact that there has been an apparent change in the law or, to put it more precisely, that previous misconceptions about the meaning of a statute have been put right, does not afford a proper ground for allowing an extension of time in which to appeal against conviction."

"That practice may on its face seem harsh. On the other hand, the consequences of any rule are equally unattractive. It would mean that a defendant who had roundly and on advice accepted that he had acted dishonestly and fraudulently, and pleaded guilty, or who had been found guilty and chosen not to appeal, could after the event seek to reopen the convictions. If such convictions were to be readily reopened it would be difficult to know where to draw the line or how far to go back . . . It is plain, as we read the authorities, that there is no inflexible rule on this subject, but the general practice is plainly one which sets its face against the reopening of convictions recorded in such circumstances. Counsel submits - - and in our judgment submits correctly - - that the practice of the Court has in the past, in this and comparable situations, been to eschew undue technicality and ask whether any substantial injustice has been done."

" . . . in Lambert the majority was strongly influenced by the view that the contrary interpretation would lead to the challenging of old convictions. It is now clear that there is a perfectly effective filter by way of the discretion of the Court of Appeal to refuse to extend time for leave to appeal in such cases. Moreover, a similar filter is applicable to the decision of the Criminal Cases Review Commission."

"(21) In our judgment it plain on the authorities that, regardless of the presence or absence of the proviso to s.2 of the 1968 Act, it has been this Court's established practice for over 20 years not to grant an extension of time or leave to appeal because of a change in the law since trial. It is also plain, notably from Horsman, that, once leave has been granted, the only question for this Court, when hearing an appeal against conviction (whether on a reference by the CCRC or otherwise) is whether the conviction is safe. (22) . . . we express the very firm hope that, in exercising the discretion under s.9 and the judgment conferred by s.13(1)(a), the CCRC may think it right to take into account this court's practice in refusing leave because of a change in the law just as, in the light of Pearson, they take the court's practice into account when assessing the possibility of fresh evidence being received. But the analogy is inexact: although s.13 requires a judgment as to what may happen on the hearing of an appeal, it is silent in relation to applications. And it may or may not be apt to construe the s.9 direction sufficiently widely to embrace consideration of the court's practice on applications. We do not think it right to reach any conclusion as to the full ambit of sections 9 or 13, because we have heard no submissions on behalf of the CCRC and because, a reference having been made in the present case without any challenge, we have to deal with the appeal. (23) As a matter of statutory construction, however, it appears to us that the consequences of the absence from the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 of any time limit for references by the CCRC and the presence of the retrospectivity provision of s.22(4) in the Human Rights Act, as interpreted by the majority in Kebilene, are twofold: (i) the CCRC, subject to the proper exercise of the discretion conferred by s.9 of the Criminal Appeal Act, can refer to this court a conviction following a trial whenever it took place; (ii) this court, once such a reference has been made, has no option, however old the case, but to declare the conviction unsafe if that is the result either of the admission of evidence obtained in breach of Article 6 or of a change in the common law, which is deemed always to have been that which it is authoritatively declared to be, as, for example, by reason of Preddy . . . . (24) We reach this conclusion with no enthusiasm whatever. Leaving aside colourful historical examples such as Sir Thomas More, Guy Fawkes and Charles I, all of whom would have benefited from Convention rights, until the Criminal Evidence Act 1898, no defendant was permitted to give evidence on his own behalf. That is a clear breach of Article 6. Many examples in the 20th century of other rules and procedures which, viewed with the wisdom of hindsight, were in breach of the Convention could be given. But we resist that temptation lest, by succumbing, we exacerbate the problem to which we are drawing attention. For over 20 years, this Court has adopted a pragmatic approach, confirmed by successive Lord Chief Justices, whereby a refusal to extend time to apply for leave to appeal has filtered out those seeking to take advantage of a change in the law since they were convicted. This, in our judgment, reflects the public interest that there be finality in litigation and it is an approach which has also helped this court to concentrate its limited resources on determining more meritorious appeals arising from more recent convictions. Subject to the outcome of further consideration of the breadth of the CCRC's discretion, it appears that Parliament, consciously or unconsciously, has completely emasculated that approach. If so, the consequential prospective work -load for the CCRC and for this court is alarming. If this is what Parliament intended, so be it. If not, the sooner the matter is addressed, by Parliament or by the House of Lords on appeal from this court, the better."

"(1) This section applies on an appeal against conviction, where the appellant has been convicted of an offence [to which he did not plead guilty] and the jury could on the indictment have found him guilty of some other offence, and on the finding of the jury it appears to the Court of Appeal that the jury must have been satisfied of facts which proved him guilty of the other offence. (2) The Court may, instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the verdict found by the jury a verdict of guilty of the other offence, and pass such sentence in substitution for the sentence passed at the trial as may be authorised by law for the other offence, not being a sentence of greater severity."