Tougher penalties for white-collar criminals assisting members of organised crime "send out a clear message", a Home Office minister said.
Nobody is above the law. But for too long corrupt lawyers, accountants and other professionals have tried to evade justice by hiding behind a veneer of respectability.
This new offence sends out a clear message to those individuals: if you are helping to oil the wheels of organised crime, you will be prosecuted and face being jailed.
The Government's new serious crime bill will tackle corrupt solicitors, accountants and other associates of organised crime by giving courts tougher powers to punish them, the Home Secretary has announced.
Home Secretary Theresa May's legislative programme will be announced in the Queen's speech. Credit: PA
The bill also includes strengthened powers for seizing criminal assets of convicted gang bosses and creates a new crime-by-association offence.
Courts will be able to prosecute white-collar criminals under the offence "participation in an organised crime group", under plans which will be announced as part of the Queen's speech tomorrow.
The Home Office says the measure will also target the so-called 'Mr Bigs', who plan, co-ordinate and manage criminal networks but are careful not to get their hands dirty in order to avoid prosecution.
Those convicted of the new offence will face up to five years' imprisonment and a new Asbo-style civil order restricting their travel and who they associate with, to deter them from returning to a life of crime.
