Return to normal view

Asset Confiscation Process

Asset Confiscation Operations (ACO) is responsible for restraint, forfeiture and disposal of:

• property used to commit crimes
• money resulting from crime
• property bought with money that comes from an offence.

ACO is also responsible in enforcing offenders pay back the dollar value of any benefit they receive from crime through a pecuniary penalty order.

Confiscation

Confiscation is the process by which:

• the proceeds of a crime are forfeited to the state
• property purchased with proceeds of crime is forfeited to the state
• the property that is used to commit a crime is seized and forfeited
• the offender is required to pay back to the state the dollar value of the benefit that he or she has received as a result of committing the crime (a pecuniary penalty order).

Types of property potentially subject to confiscation

Types of property that can potentially be subject to confiscation include:

• any property used in the commission of an offence
• any property obtained with the proceeds of the commission of an offence
• depending on the gravity of the offence, property can be automatically forfeited whether or not the property was connected with the offending.

In the case of civil forfeiture a person need not be charged with an offence for property to be forfeited, if it can be shown that the property was acquired with the proceeds of crime.

What happens to confiscated goods?

Auctions are held by agents of Victoria Police to sell forfeited goods and real property (land) is sold at public auction by ACO.

Funds realised from the sale of forfeited property are paid to Consolidated Revenue.

If you are the victim of a crime and have received a compensation order, you may be able to claim some money from the auction of the goods seized from that crime. This is only possible if the goods were restrained for the purpose of compensation and both the compensation order and the forfeiture order for those goods were made in relation to the same offence.