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Written question asked by Joan Walley (Labour) on Tuesday, 29 April 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 May 2003. It was answered by Clare Short (Labour) on Tuesday, 6 May 2003 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Dept for International Development

Question
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of legislation under EU directive 97/2001 on money laundering to tackle proceeds from the illegal timber trade; and if he will make a statement; To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment has been made of the use of existing UK legislation to target illegal timber imports, with particular reference to legislation on stolen goods, fraud and forgery; and if she will make a statement. - Including ref to Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Theft Act 1968.
Answer

Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment the Government have made of legislation under EU directive 97/2001 on money laundering to tackle proceeds from the illegal timber trade; and if he will make a statement; [111035] (2) what assessment has been made of the use of existing UK legislation to target illegal timber imports, with particular reference to legislation on stolen goods, fraud and forgery; and if she will make a statement. [111036] Clare Short: The Government have contributed to a study on measures that the EU could take to control illegal logging and trade in illegally sourced timber products. The study indicated that UK's money laundering legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 could be used as a possible measure by which the proceeds of illegal logging entering the UK financial system could be identified and persons involved convicted. However, this would require illegal logging in other countries and associated trade to be defined as criminal offences under UK law. The study also indicated that some forms of illegal logging could be targeted under the Theft Act 1968 that applies to goods that have been stolen abroad as well as within the UK. For this to be effective, there must first be a request by a court or prosecuting authority in the country of origin for the suspected stolen goods to be seized and criminal proceedings initiated or a person arrested for the offence. Therefore, using UK legislation in this regard is dependent on the activities of enforcement agencies in the countries of origin of illegal timber. Provided these actions have been taken, sale within the UK of timber known to be illegally sourced may be considered an offence.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
404 c579-80W;404 c576-7W; 111035;111036
Session
2002-03
EC documents
Dir2001/97/EC
Subjects
Fraud EU law Forgery Money laundering Timber Smuggling
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk