Amounts transferred before the period in which the scheduled...

Amounts transferred before the period in which the scheduled crime was committed do not constitute proceeds of crime merely because the underlying transaction later failed. The transfer for proposed purchase of commercial premises preceded the identified diversion of homebuyers' funds and therefore represented a potential civil or commercial claim, not criminal proceeds. Attachment of property of equivalent value is permissible only where proceeds of crime are unavailable and receipt or diversion of those proceeds by the concerned person is established. Enforcement proceedings cannot be used to recover an unrelated pre-crime-period business debt. The provisional attachment was therefore treated as unsustainable, without preventing lawful recovery through civil or other appropriate proceedings.

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