R v Jonathan Porter & Anor
[2023] EWCA Crim 1485
Jacob Gross v R
23 January 2024
[2024] EWCA Crim 21
Court of Appeal
A man was convicted of money laundering. He said he thought the money was from legal herbal supplements, not illegal drugs. The court said it didn't matter what *kind* of crime the money came from, only that he knew it was from a crime. His conviction was upheld.
Key Facts
- •Jacob Gross was convicted of entering into an arrangement to use criminal property and acquiring criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).
- •The criminal property was the proceeds of the illegal sale of prescription-only and counterfeit medicines.
- •Gross owned 'Triangle companies' which received payments from online pharmacies via merchant accounts.
- •Gross subsequently transferred substantial sums to overseas shell companies.
- •Gross claimed he believed the payments were for a legitimate herbal supplement, Maxxes, and was unaware of the illegal nature of the transactions.
- •A significant delay occurred before trial due to the pandemic and Gross's serious illness.
- •The jury raised a question about the apparent discrepancy between the particulars of offence and the judge's direction on mens rea.
Legal Principles
The prosecution must prove that the property derives from crime. This can be done by showing it derives from specific unlawful conduct or by circumstantial evidence leading to an irresistible inference of criminal origin.
R v Anwoir [2008] EWCA Crim 1354
While not required to prove a specific predicate offence, fairness requires particulars of the criminal activity generating the laundered money be provided when possible.
DPP v Bholah [2011] UKPC 44
Suspicion, under POCA, means a possibility more than fanciful that relevant facts exist; a vague feeling of unease is insufficient.
R v Da Silva [2006] EWCA Crim 1654
Under sections 328 and 329 POCA, the prosecution must prove the defendant knew or suspected the money represented the benefit from criminal conduct, not necessarily the specific type of criminal conduct.
Sections 328, 329, and 340 POCA, and the judge's direction.
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The convictions were deemed safe. The judge's direction on mens rea, though initially contested, was ultimately correct in law. There was no unfairness or change of prosecution case.