Meeting of the Parliament 08 November 2023
I will attempt to come on to that, but I have a lot to say.
Criminals now regard proceeds of crime orders as a form of retrospective taxation—essentially, an occupational hazard—but, even then, once they have been served with a confiscation order, they often refuse to pay up. Last year, £12 million of confiscation orders were unpaid and unknown sums have been written off. That is wrong and should form part of any widespread review. A renewed and robust proceeds of crime law could yield even more money for our communities.
I have a specific concern that relates to cashback for communities and amateur boxing. Many boxing clubs are great forces for good; they are at the heart of communities and are run by decent people who support young people and help keep them out of trouble. However, they tell me of significant infiltration by organised crime. We see the same in professional boxing, with the Kinahan cartel and its Scottish associates. Real boxing people despise that contamination of their sport.
That brings me back to James White, the £126 million drug dealer, because he sought legitimacy by coaching kids at a Glasgow boxing club. That same club has received money from cashback for communities, which seeks to divert youths from crime. It would be perverse if money seized from drug dealers should end up being returned to drug dealers. I therefore urge the Scottish Government to conduct an audit of where that money ends up.
Our amendment also calls for the Scottish Government to update its serious organised crime strategy. I have very little time left, but I will say that I believe that much more needs to be done to tackle the flow of laundered drugs money into society. One area of particular concern is sport—not only boxing but professional football. Just as in boxing, good people in football have no time for the exploitation of the national game by drug dealers. Police Scotland previously issued a video, warning young players about organised criminals posing as football agents, and prominent lawyers and former players provide a veneer of respectability. It is a significant problem, and there is evidence that drugs money has seeped into the ownership and control of senior football clubs.
In football, much of that is an open secret, but it appears that no one is willing or able to talk about it publicly. In seven minutes, it is impossible to go into a sufficient level of detail, but we should all be in agreement that, in Scotland, crime should not pay. Today, that is not something that I have any confidence in saying.
I move amendment S6M-11127.2, to insert at end:
“; recognises that the money recovered from the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 does not match the vast wealth accumulated by criminals in Scotland; acknowledges that the activities of organised crime groups, including drug dealing, have a devastating impact on communities, resulting in a high number of deaths; calls, therefore, on the Scottish Government to review the effectiveness of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which was fully enacted in March 2004, with a view to increasing the amount of money that can be recovered, and urges the Scottish Government to update its Serious Organised Crime strategy to ensure that tackling damaging, high-level criminality remains a key priority of the justice system.”
15:45Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.