Baroness D'Souza (CB)

My Lords, I had hoped to speak to this Bill on Second Reading, but was unable to do so; I hope noble Lords will allow me to jump in in Committee. As has been pointed out elegantly by previous speakers, standard compensation orders are simply not suited to complex economic crimes such as sanctions offences. We now have these two amendments, which seek to ensure that victims are not excluded from receiving compensation simply because their harm is deemed too indirect or too complex for UK law to handle. We also know that it is highly likely that the UK will bring in yet more sanctions, particularly in the context of Russia and Ukraine. It is therefore timely to adjust our laws now. In the comprehensive briefing that we all received from Redress, of which I am honoured to be a patron, it has been estimated that, at present, there are almost 3,000 targets of sanctions imposed by the UK Government, and more are likely to follow. However, as we have learned, at present the courts have almost no legal basis to channel any of the proceeds to Ukrainian victims, who the sanctions are intended to protect. Achieving a way to compensate victims of Russian aggression from the criminal assets of oligarchs breaching UK sanctions will be perceived by the Ukrainians as a form of justice that is not to be sniffed at. These amendments would strengthen UK law by empowering courts to award compensation orders for “public interest or social purposes” by means of compensation forfeiture orders arising from criminal conduct under the UK’s sanction laws. I thoroughly support these amendments.