header-logo header-logo

A drafting enigma

17 August 2012 / Daniel Lightman KC
Issue: 7527 / Categories: Features , Criminal
printer mail-detail

Daniel Lightman unravels the puzzles within the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

A key innovation introduced by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) is the power it gave to enforcement agencies, including the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), to conduct civil recovery investigations and then to apply for civil recovery orders (CROs) in respect of property which is, or represents, property obtained through unlawful conduct. Ten years after their introduction, the Supreme Court has recently, for the first time, considered the extra-territorial ambit of civil recovery investigative powers and CROs.

Misnomers

The use of the expression “recovery order” is inapposite, since it wrongly suggests that the property at one time belonged to SOCA and that the function of a CRO is to “restore” the property to SOCA, whereas a CRO is in reality a civil forfeiture. When a CRO is made, its proceeds do not go to the victims of the crime, but rather to the UK Exchequer—and the Home Office has a discretion to incentivise SOCA by providing

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll