Police don’t even know whose money it is, or where it came from. I think they should be able to keep it.

  • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    This case is strange, the money is almost certainly from drug dealing.

    IANAL, consider two other situations:

    • The couple never discovered the money, they sell the house in 20 years…the crown never sees any of it.
    • The couple discovers the money without the electrician, they tell no one and slowly spend the cash, the crown gets the GST portion of the money back…

    The other point I would make as the lawyer in this case is “How would taking this money; prevent future crime?”

    The legislation is used by police to separate criminals from their ill-gotten gains, fighting crime by confiscating the profits that make it worthwhile.

    The compromise the crown could make, is that the money is taxed as income. They get 33% + 15% of any money spent.

    The moral of the story, is if you find a butt load of cash, don’t tell anyone.