Fraud Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 29A:"Page 8, line 21, leave out ““or””" The noble and learned Lord said: Amendment No. 29A is very interesting. Section 24A of the Theft Act 1968 makes it an offence—it is technically an offence of theft rather than fraud—for a person to retain a credit made to his account if he knows or believes that it derives from fraud, theft, blackmail or stolen goods. The person need not have been involved in the crime. Criminal liability is triggered simply by his knowing that his account has been wrongfully credited and his dishonestly not seeking to cancel that credit. That is the background to the amendment. It is a technical amendment, because it would expand the existing definition of ““account”” in Section 24A to provide that electronic money accounts will be covered by the offence in the same way as conventional bank accounts when funds are wrongfully credited to them. Amendments Nos. 29C and 29D refer to Northern Ireland. On 25 January, I wrote to the noble Lords, Lord Kingsland and Lord Goodhart, providing details on the substance of these government amendments. I hope that that was helpful. But as this is the first time that this matter comes before the Committee, I should say a few more words about the amendment. Electronic or e-money is defined as monetary value. It is represented by a claim on the issuer, stored on an electronic device, issued on receipt of funds and accepted as a means of payment by persons other than the issuer. It is apparently used principally for Internet shopping, such as on eBay, Internet gambling, money transfer and as a substitute for travellers’ cheques. It is not legal tender. It has to be backed up by a float of cash. E-money accounts are excluded from the definition of deposit-taking, and e-money institutions are forbidden to grant credit. A substantial amount of e-money is being used. At the end of 2005, approximately £137 million of e-money was in circulation in the UK, issued by specialist e-money issuers. What is more, e-money in issue in the UK is likely to expand significantly as the prepaid debit card starts to take off. As it stands, Section 24A sets out the definition of ““account”” in terms of deposit-taking accounts, so e-money accounts would not be caught by the offence. The majority of cases of the fraudulent misuse of another’s e-money account would be covered by the Bill’s new offences, but as the focus of the Bill is on the dishonest behaviour of the defendant, or indeed the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, it would be wise, given that the e-money industry is relatively new but growing rapidly, to ensure that it too is covered by Section 24A. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to.