Nominal £1 confiscation orders secured against fraudsters for future earnings

The Crown acquired the confiscation orders against a financial embezzler and a benefits fraudster.

This means future earning will be recovered from the pair as criminal earnings if necessary.

Shaleena Ahmed, 32, was made subject to a confiscation order at Glasgow Sheriff Court this week after she claimed over £16,000 in benefits she was not eligible to claim.

Since she had no money, the court made an order for a nominal sum of £1.

Such an order allows the Crown to maintain its position, so that if the accused subsequently gains assets the Crown can ask the court to reassess the confiscation order up to the value the guilty party benefited from the crime.

The second case involved Stuart Sneddon, 44, of Fife, who was handed a compensation order after he embezzled £225,000 from his clients.

Mr Sneddon pleaded guilty to embezzlement in February 2013 and was sentenced to four years in prison as well as a compensation order totalling £158,000 to be paid to his victims.

In another case the Crown was criticised for ordering a former bank clerk who stole £120,000 from a client to pay back £1 as she lacked any assets.

However, further proceedings will be taken against her should she acquire more money.

Procurator fiscal for organised crime and counter-terrorism, Lindsey Miller, said: “The Crown is dedicated to recovering proceeds of crime wherever possible.

“However, sometimes an accused simply has no assets with which to pay, or it may be more appropriate for them to repay their victims.

“In these cases, we use the powers of the Proceeds of Crime Act to ask that their full illegal profit is formally recorded by the court and a nominal order for £1 is made against them.

“This ensures that the Crown can go back to the court should the accused obtain any assets in the future, or fail to repay their victims, and raise the confiscation order up to the total amount they made from their criminal activity.”