Commonwealth Numbered Acts

PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 1987 No. 87, 1987 - SECT 63

63. (1) Where:

   (a)  a foreign restraining order is made against property of a person in
        reliance on the person's conviction, or alleged commission, of a
        foreign serious offence;

   (b)  the foreign restraining order is registered in a court in Australia
        under the Mutual Assistance Act;

   (c)  a foreign pecuniary penalty order has been or is made against the
        person in reliance on the person's conviction of the offence or a
        related foreign serious offence;

   (d)  the foreign pecuniary penalty order has been or is registered in a
        court in Australia under the Mutual Assistance Act; and

   (e)  an order has been or is made under section 61 directing the Official
        Trustee to take control of the property; the court in which the
        foreign pecuniary penalty order is registered may, by order, direct
        the Official Trustee to pay to the Commonwealth, in accordance with
        this section, an amount equal to the penalty amount out of that
        property.

(2) For the purposes of enabling the Official Trustee to comply with the order
under subsection (1), the court may, in that order or by a subsequent order:

   (a)  direct the Official Trustee to sell or otherwise dispose of such of
        the property that is under the control of the Official Trustee as the
        court specifies; and

   (b)  appoint an officer of the court or any other person to execute any
        deed or instrument in the name of a person who owns or has an estate,
        or interest or right in the property and to do any act or thing
        necessary to give validity and operation to the deed or instrument.

(3) The execution of the deed or instrument by the person appointed by an
order under subsection (2) has the same force and validity as if the deed or
instrument had been executed by the person who owned or had the estate,
interest or right in the property.

(4) Where an order is made under subsection (1) in relation to property, the
Official Trustee shall, as soon as practicable after the order is made:

   (a)  if the property is money:

        (i)    apply the money in payment of the costs payable to the Official
               Trustee in accordance with section 55 in respect of the order
               under section 61 in respect of the property; and

        (ii)   subject to subsection (5), pay the remainder of the money to
               the Commonwealth; and

   (b)  if the property is not money:

        (i)    sell or otherwise dispose of the property;

        (ii)   apply the proceeds of the sale or disposition in payment of the
               costs payable to the Official Trustee in accordance with
               section 55 in respect of the order under section 61 in respect
               of the property (including expenses incurred in connection with
               the sale or disposition of any of the property to which the
               order under section 61 relates); and

        (iii)  subject to subsection (5), pay the remainder of those proceeds
               to the Commonwealth.

(5) Where the money or proceeds to which subparagraph (4) (a) (ii) or (b)
(iii) applies, exceeds the penalty amount, the Official Trustee shall:

   (a)  pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the penalty amount; and

   (b)  pay the balance to the person whose property was subject to the order
        under section 61.

(6) Where the Official Trustee pays, in accordance with an order under
subsection (1), money to the Commonwealth in satisfaction of a person's
liability under a foreign pecuniary penalty, the person's liability under the
foreign pecuniary penalty order shall, to the extent of the payment, be deemed
to be discharged.