Possession of stolen goods

355 and 355.5) Handling stolen goods is the name of a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

It takes place after a theft or other dishonest acquisition is completed and may be committed by a fence or other person who helps the thief to realise the value of the stolen goods.

[4] However, property which has been returned to the original owner, or otherwise lawful custody, is no longer regarded as stolen, by section 24(3).

[5] A codification of the methods of dealing has been suggested as This makes the actus reus of handling very wide.

[citation needed] Dishonestly: The mens rea of the offence is the same as for theft (see Ivey v Genting Casinos [2017] UKSC 67).

Laundering covers large amounts of money in a series of transactions over time when the defendant knows or suspects that the assets which he has concealed, acquired, used, possessed, or in respect of which they have entered into an arrangement which they know or suspect facilitates the acquisition, retention, use, or control of criminal property by or on behalf of another person, are the proceeds of criminal conduct (compare money laundering).

[citation needed] Section 23[8] of the 1968 Act creates an offence of "advertising rewards for the return of stolen goods".

Apart from the apparent difficulties of specifying a charge that does not offend against the rule against duplicity, it has been said that "in practice almost anything a person does with stolen goods may be classified as a handling".

[5] Section 27(3) of the Theft Act 1968 introduces a rare exception to the rule against admissibility of previous criminal conduct in the case of this offence.

If the defendant is facing other charges, evidence of previous bad character may be admissible under Section 98 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

§ 2315, and is defined as knowingly receiving, concealing, or disposing of stolen property with a value of at least $5,000 such that it also constitutes interstate commerce (i.e., has been transported across state lines).

The term "interstate commerce" merely refers to the movement of property from one U.S. state into another; and it is sufficient if the property has recently moved interstate as a result of a transaction or a series of related transactions that have not been fully completed or consummated at the time of the person's acts as alleged.

If, for example, the person acquired possession for the purpose of returning the property to its lawful owner, no crime has been committed.