Proceeds of Crime

This is typically when criminals acquire wealth through illegal activity. If you’re charged with a proceeds of crime offence, unless you can prove you’ve done it to fund a drug addiction and have no other available assets, a referral for a financial investigation will normally be made. If you’re found to be making a living from crime, a confiscation application will follow. The exception to this is if there aren’t any assets and there’s no likelihood of any assets being located.

You’re deemed to have a criminal lifestyle if the offence you’re charged with meets one or more of the following criteria: 

• You’re found to be involved in drug trafficking, money laundering offence, directing terrorism, people trafficking, arms trafficking, counterfeiting, intellectual property infringement, pimps and brothels, blackmail, an offence of attempting, conspiring, inciting, aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring an offence specified above 
• Your conduct forms part of a course of criminal activity 
• You’ve committed the offence over a period of at least six months and you’ve benefited from your conduct

It’s when you’re convicted of one or more of the offences listed in the first bullet point of the question above or if you’ve benefitted by at least £5,000 from criminal activity.

This is an order the court makes which allows it to freeze assets, anywhere in the world, that could be liable for confiscation after a trial and the making of a confiscation order. It can be made against you if you’re the defendant, as well as someone else the authorities are investigating and believe to be holding assets that can be realised. The aim of a restraint order is to keep your assets available for a confiscation order in the event you’re convicted, whilst meeting any reasonable needs you may have in the meantime.

No, confiscation may not be appropriate if you’ve repaid or returned the full extent of the benefits you obtained through your criminal activity. Also, if the value of the benefit you received was so low that any repayment would fully, or substantially, compromise your financial stability. This can also apply if you’ve been before the youth court. Finally, if there aren’t any identifiable assets, a proceeds of crime confiscation order wouldn’t be enforceable.

If the court sets an amount to be paid, it will also set a period of imprisonment in the event you default on the repayment. This can range from a period of weeks to several years.

No, but that matter won’t simply go away, the court will expect you to make efforts to pay.