State of Queensland v King and Anor

The State of Queensland applied for the forfeiture of $158,900 cash found by police in a unit occupied by Samuel King and another respondent. The interested party and the respondents sought to exclude the cash from forfeiture on the basis that all but $12,000 was money received by the interested party for a personal injuries compensation claim and passed to the first respondent for safekeeping. The remaining $12,000 was received from a third party by the interested party and passed to the first respondent. The court had to decide whether the money (apart from the $12,000) was “illegally acquired property” and whether the $12,000 was “illegally acquired property.” The court also had to determine whether the $12,000, if ever “illegally acquired property,” had ceased to be “illegally acquired property.”

The court held that the $12,000 had ceased to be “illegally acquired property” if it ever was. The court also found that the money (apart from the $12,000) was not “illegally acquired property.” Consequently, the cash was excluded from forfeiture. The court ordered that the application for forfeiture of the money be dismissed and that the State of Queensland pay the costs of the forfeiture application and the respective applications for exclusion.

The court determined that the cash was excluded from forfeiture and dismissed the application for forfeiture of the money. The court found that the interested party held the beneficial ownership of the money which was not illegally acquired property. The court also found that the first respondent had legal title to the cash but his interests were subject to the beneficial interest of the interested party. The court ordered that the State of Queensland pay the costs of the forfeiture application and the respective applications for exclusion.