A blackmail payment may sometimes be caught by ICTA88/S577A (1) as well as ICTA88/S577A (1A) because the payment itself is a criminal act; for example, in cases within the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 (PTA) - see BIM43120. However this will only happen where the payment has been made knowingly to a proscribed organisation so that it constitutes a criminal act under the PTA. The payer faced with a disallowance may claim that the threat was simply from a criminal rather than terrorist organisation. This will provide no escape from a disallowance where the payer has submitted to blackmail or extortion. Hence, subsection (1A) provides an alternative basis for disallowing the payment in such cases.
