New South Wales Crime Commission v Rahman

The respondents, Mr and Mrs Rahman, were the subjects of an investigation by the New South Wales Crime Commission into their possible involvement in organised criminal activity. The Commission sought to make orders under section 214 of the Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002, freezing the respondents’ assets and appointing a receiver to manage them. The Supreme Court of New South Wales heard the Commission's application for these orders. The central legal issue the court had to decide was whether the Commission had provided sufficient evidence to justify the granting of the restraining orders under section 214 of the Act. Specifically, the court needed to determine whether the Commission had demonstrated that the respondents' assets were connected to criminal activity and that there was a need to prevent the dissipation of those assets.

The court found that the Commission had not provided sufficient evidence to support the granting of the restraining orders. It noted that while there was a strong suspicion of criminal activity, the evidence was not strong enough to meet the legal threshold required for such orders. The court emphasised that the onus was on the Commission to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the assets were connected to criminal activity and that there was a real risk of the assets being dissipated. The evidence presented was deemed insufficient to meet this burden. As a result, the court dismissed the Commission's application for restraining orders. The court did not make any orders freezing the respondents' assets or appointing a receiver to manage them.