Civil enforcement

Civil enforcement

Many regulators have both civil and criminal powers available to them when investigating breaches of legislation. It is important for corporate crime lawyers to know what civil options exist, as these may be imposed as an alternative to criminal prosecution.

Civil recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

A civil recovery order can be obtained by an enforcement authority under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002). An application for a civil recovery order allows the enforcement authority to recover the proceeds of crime through action in civil proceedings before the High Court, rather than the criminal courts.

In practice, such applications are generally considered where the enforcement authority considers that they have no jurisdiction over the criminality involved in the acquisition of the criminal property or where the tests in the Code for Crown Prosecutors are not met and where, consequently, no prosecution will be brought against the individuals holding the criminal property. However, in some cases applications may be pursued where an individual has been convicted but where no criminal confiscation proceedings were brought post conviction.

Practice

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