Restraint Proceedings & Management Receivership
EBR Attridge specialist fraud team can advise you on civil asset recovery proceedings such as Restraint Orders under Section 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) as well as advising on ancillary matters such as Management Receivership.
Generally a restrained order can be utilised by the prosecuting authorities both before and during an investigation, charge and any subsequent trial. At the start of any criminal investigation, the CPS or an agent applying for a Restraint Order must provide enough evidence that a defendant has benefited financially from criminal activity before the Court can grant a Restraint Order – mere suspicion that a defendant might have benefited financially is not sufficient for a Court to grant a Restraint Order.
The effect of the grant of that order is to freeze any assets the a client may have such as a property whether in the UK or overseas or any direct/indirect bank account, which might have been acquired as a result of criminal activity or is linked to criminal activity.
Once a Restraint Order is granted, you may be required to disclose by affidavit to the CPS details of any assets such as bank accounts and property and their location – including overseas assets.
In cases where assets are held outside the jurisdiction of England & Wales, the Court may also order the assets to be returned to the jurisdiction of England & Wales; for example, transferring sums held in offshore accounts to bank accounts in England or Wales, which will be frozen.
Where property or financial assets have been legitimately acquired and you are able to show that legitimacy then a variation of the restraint order can be applied allowing for an acceptable living income in order that you can pay living expenses.
It is therefore vital that you contact one of the specialist fraud team at EBR Attridge who, with extensive knowledge and past experience, can guide you through the early stages of dealing with the imposition of the order, the various applications required to both contest and vary the order as well as any application to discharge it.
As a result of any restraint proceedings and any subsequent confiscation Management Receivers (MR) can be appointed by the Court to manage assets before the making of a confiscation order. A restraint order must be in place for a MR to be appointed, however, the application may be made at the same time as the application for the restraint order. Management receiverships are costly and will often present a high litigation risk at the early stages of the financial investigation when restraint orders are generally obtained. For these reasons, management receiverships are rare.
Nevertheless, EBR Attridge’s solicitors can assist and advise on the appointment of a MR when your assets are of such a nature that they require active management.
We regularly deal with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Financial Service Authority (FSA) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) as well as many third party applicants. At EBR Attridge we have a specialist team of solicitors dealing in Restraint Orders and Management Receivership advice and who have represented and continue to act in some of the most complex and high profile criminal prosecutions brought in relation to this detailed and complex area of law.
If you are being investigated or prosecuted, please make an appointment to see a specialist Solicitor who can attend upon you by telephone, face-to-face or online.
