Twanieka Alcindor of the Garden Court Crime Team acted for the respondent, instructed by Errol Robinson of McGrath & Co (as part of GT Stewart Solicitors).
Twanieka Alcindor successfully resists an application for further detention of seized cash.
Twanieka represented a 77-year-old woman of good character who was intercepted at Heathrow Airport on her return from Saudi Arabia by Border Force, whilst being in the possession of £21,000 of cash.
HMRC had previously successfully detained the respondent’s cash for a total of five months, despite the Department of Work and Pensions having made legitimate backdated payments to the respondent which were substantially more than those sums seized.
Twanieka successfully resisted the application made by HMRC to further extend the period of detention. Twanieka’s cross examination of the HMRC investigator and her subsequent oral submissions persuaded the court that the substantial delays in the investigation, which had included the full cooperation of the respondent, were such that the continued detention of the cash seized was unjustifiable. The application was refused and the sums returned to the respondent.
