NSW Crime Commission v Attallah

In the matter of the NSW Crime Commission versus Attallah, the court was asked to determine the value of criminal assets that needed to be recovered. The primary dispute was about the correct method of assessing the assets in question, specifically whether the assessment should be based on gross receipts or notional profit. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The legal issue before the court was the appropriate measure for calculating the value of criminal assets in a forfeiture order. The NSW Crime Commission argued that the notional profit was the correct metric to use, while Attallah contended that the gross receipts should be the basis for the assessment. The court was required to determine which method aligned with the statutory provisions and the principles of justice.

The court found that the statutory language of the Crimes (Asset Confiscation) Act 2005 favoured an assessment based on gross receipts rather than notional profit. The court reasoned that the act explicitly referenced gross receipts and did not provide for the calculation of notional profit. Furthermore, the court considered that the use of notional profit could potentially lead to double counting and an overestimation of the value of the criminal assets. Consequently, the court decided that the assessment should focus on the gross receipts to accurately reflect the value of the assets in question.

The final orders of the court mandated that the NSW Crime Commission's application for a forfeiture order be based on the gross receipts of the criminal assets. This decision ensured that the assessment method was consistent with the statutory framework and avoided the potential pitfalls of using notional profit as the basis for the calculation.