Andrew Katzen & Olivia Dwan analyse what the growing dominance of civil proceedings in proceeds of crime means for practitioners
- Once dominated by criminal proceedings, proceeds of crime cases are now primarily enforced using civil remedies.
- Account freezing and forfeiture orders (AFOs) have recently come to play a particularly significant role in enforcement’s proceeds of crime efforts.
- Despite the relative ease with which enforcement can obtain AFOs, there is much that the holders of targeted accounts and affected third parties can do to defend their positions.
The past 25 years have seen significant changes to the way proceeds of crime law operates in England and Wales. Once dominated by criminal proceedings, this area of law is now primarily enforced using civil remedies.
The main drivers of this change are the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) and the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017), both of which introduced different tools to enable enforcement agencies to make use of civil powers in these matters.
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