I beg to move amendment No. 463, in page 177, line 23, after 'under', insert

'section 2 of the 1985 Act,'.

With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 464 to 469.

The amendments are purely technical. They are designed to add references to the separate Scottish legislation on personal insolvency under clause 308.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendments made: No. 464, in page 177, line 24, after 'of', insert 'interim trustee or'.

No. 465, in age 177, line 27, after 'or', insert

'in relation to Scotland, of a person whose estate has been sequestrated,'.

No. 466, in page 177, line 30, at end insert

'or

(f) in relation to Scotland, it is property comprised in the estate of a person who has granted a trust deed within the meaning of the 1985 Act.'.

No. 467, in page 177, line 41, at end insert—

'( ) the 1985 Act means the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 (c.66),'.

No. 468, in page 177, line 46, at end insert

'or, in relation to Scotland, any property comprised in an estate to which the 1985 Act applies,'.

No. 469, in page 178, line 2, after 'of', insert 'the 1985 Act,'—[Mr. Bob Ainsworth.]

Question proposed, That the clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill.

I shall not detain the Committee; I just want to be told that I am wrong. [Hon. Members: ''You are wrong.''] Such psychic powers could be used to tell us who will win the 3.30 at Kempton Park tomorrow.

Order. The hon. Gentleman has been here long enough to know that hostages to fortune in Committee are routinely shot.

So long as it is only the hostages to fortune that are shot, Mr. McWilliam. I shall soon come to a query about wills and intestacy, so perhaps that turn of phrase will make me feel comfortable.

Am I to understand that if someone who receives the proceeds of crime manages to organise himself in such a way that he becomes bankrupt, proceedings cannot be taken against him unless permission is granted? If that is so, in what circumstances would permission would be granted? I sense a loophole. Having committed the crimes, people might find that to organise a bankruptcy petition could be a useful way of avoiding proceedings.

I hope and believe that there is not a loophole in the provision. It is for the insolvency court to decide whether action goes ahead. A petition does not necessarily preclude recovery going ahead. When insolvency and recovery are taking place at the same time, the insolvency court will be given the discretion

to decide whether to go ahead. The loophole that the hon. Gentleman fears will not be created.

As I understand it, the insolvency court could decide to allow the insolvency proceedings to go ahead. If that is so, surely there is a loophole, because if you can disguise the way in which you brought about the insolvency, you could achieve a decision that would allow insolvency to go ahead. You could have organised your creditors in such a way that they would gain possession of the proceeds of crime, and the Bill would stop the pursuit of them.

Order. My bank manager may be a bit fed up with me after my Christmas spending spree, but I am not thinking of filing a bankruptcy petition. When the hon. Gentleman uses the word ''you'', he is referring to me.

As I said, the insolvency courts will hear representations and balance the rights of the creditors against the rights of the director. However, the director will argue his case and say that the proceedings should go ahead. The insolvency court will have to hear the other representations. It is only right that the interests of creditors should be taken into account. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will not argue that they should not. The fact that the court has the discretion to decide protects the rights of creditors. It is for the court to decide on the balance between their rights and the director's need to recover the proceeds of crime.

Clause 308, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.