Togias v New South Wales Crime Commission

The plaintiff in Togias v New South Wales Crime Commission was seeking to have certain interests and values excluded from a forfeiture order made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (NSW). The plaintiff, who had an interest in a property that was subject to the forfeiture order, argued that they should not be affected by the order because they were not the person whose criminal activities led to the order. The court had to decide whether the plaintiff's interest in the property was subject to the forfeiture order and if so, whether any of the value of that interest could be excluded from the order.

The court examined the statutory language of the Act to determine the scope of the forfeiture order and found that the plaintiff's interest in the property had indeed been forfeited by the order. The court held that the plaintiff did not have an "interest" in the property in the sense intended by the Act, because that interest had already been forfeited. Consequently, the plaintiff's applications to exclude their interest and the value of their interest from the forfeiture order were dismissed on the basis of incompetence.

The court also considered the plaintiff's application for payment from the proceeds of the sale of the forfeited property on the basis of hardship. The court found that neither the plaintiff nor their children were dependents of the person whose interest had been forfeited at the time the forfeiture orders were first sought and made. Therefore, the hardship that could be ameliorated by a payment from the proceeds of sale was not made out on the evidence. The court dismissed this application as well.

The court dismissed all of the plaintiff's applications and made no orders in their favour.