Money laundering, confiscation and POCA, cash and crypto seizures, bribery, tax and SFO investigations.
What is an Asset Freezing Order? A freezing order is a court order that prevents a person or organisation from disposing of, dealing with, or moving their assets while a legal claim or investigation is ongoing. These orders are typically sought by investigators who believe funds may be connected to criminal activity, such as fraud […]
Read More… from Understanding Asset Freezing Orders in Fraud Cases
‘Smurfing’ is a money laundering technique by which criminals move large sums of money in a series of smaller transactions. By depositing smaller amounts separately, the criminal hope to avoid arousing suspicions that the money was acquired by nefarious means.
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Read More… from What is smurfing? How to spot the signs and protect against it
You can apply to release cash that was seized from you, if it was seized unfairly, or the authority that seized it has acted outside their powers.
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Read More… from Can you apply to release cash that was seized under POCA?
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is a Government department which fights complex financial crime. It forms part of the UK criminal justice system in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
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Read More… from A brief guide to the SFO: what it does and the cases it investigates
Clients often come to us for representation when they’ve been involved with drug offences or money laundering. We help clients defend these allegations and mitigate long sentences if they have a valid defence.
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Read More… from Civil recovery orders: a recent case involving Bitcoin
If you’ve been found guilty of committing a crime such as fraud, money laundering, or corruption, you might be given a confiscation order. That means that the authorities will seize some of your money and / or assets.
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The police have the power to seize property if they think it will aid an ongoing investigation, or if they suspect it has been acquired through criminal activity. But how does it work for cryptocurrency?
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Read More… from Crypto seizure – How the police deal with crypto
Since 2017 the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has had the power to forfeit money in bank accounts through Account Forfeiture Orders.
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An unexplained wealth order (UWO) is a tool used by investigating authorities to crack down on money obtained through crime.
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Read More… from Unexplained wealth orders: an in-depth guide
If you have received a freezing, restraint, or production order, you need to understand what it means and what steps you should take. Ignoring it, or breaching it could lead to a fine or even imprisonment. We can guide you through the legal process, and help you challenge it if possible.
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Read More… from What to do if you have been served with a restraint, production or freezing order
A civil recovery order (CRO) allows an authority to seize a person’s assets without first getting a criminal conviction against them. It happens in situations where the authority believes that a person has got hold of the assets through unlawful means.
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Read More… from Civil recovery orders: What you need to know
The police can seize money from you if they suspect that you got hold of the money through crime, or you intend to use the money for crime. But how do you get it back after it has been seized?
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When the police seize cash from your car, it’s because they suspect that the cash is linked to criminal conduct. The police have the right, and the power to seize this cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (usually referred to as ‘POCA’).
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If you’ve been convicted of a crime (especially something fraud, or drug related), you may also be given a confiscation order. The confiscation order is the legal way of making you repay the ‘benefit’ you received for carrying out the crime you were convicted for. It’s like a large fine that you pay to the […]
Read More… from The UK’s confiscation regime: your rights explained
This case began in 2016, a lengthy and complex investigation of an accountant who had been employed by a national firm. The accountant had set up a complex web which involved multiple companies, various banks and resulted in just short of a million pounds being redirected to various different bank accounts, controlled by him but […]
Read More… from Money Laundering Trial, Leeds Crown Court 2021 – Acquittal
