New South Wales Crime Commission v Kwong

The case of New South Wales Crime Commission v Kwong was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The Crime Commission sought to have certain assets of the defendant, Kwong, forfeited under the Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990 (NSW). The dispute centred on whether the assets in question were connected to criminal activity and, therefore, subject to confiscation. The Commission argued that Kwong's assets were derived from criminal conduct, specifically from illegal gambling and money laundering activities.

The legal issues before the court were primarily whether the Commission had established that the assets were connected to criminal activity and whether the court should make the consent orders sought. This involved determining the threshold for proving that the property was connected to criminal conduct, as outlined in the Act. The court also needed to consider whether the consent orders were appropriate, given the evidence presented.

The court found that the evidence provided by the Commission sufficiently established that Kwong's assets were connected to criminal activity. It was determined that the assets were derived from illegal gambling and money laundering, which fell within the scope of the Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990. The court accepted that the Commission had met the required threshold for proving the connection to criminal conduct. Consequently, the court granted the consent orders sought, confirming the forfeiture of the assets in question. The final orders required Kwong to forfeit all specified assets, and the proceeds to be directed to the NSW Crime Commission for distribution in accordance with the Act.