Leong, Angela V.M. --- "Assets Recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002: The UK Experience" [2009] ELECD 223; in Young, N.M. Simon (ed), "Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property

Editor(s): Young, N.M. Simon

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847208262

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: Assets Recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002: The UK Experience

Author(s): Leong, Angela V.M.

Number of pages: 41

Extract:

7. Assets recovery under the Proceeds of
Crime Act 2002: the UK experience
Angela V.M. Leong*

INTRODUCTION
The United Kingdom (UK) government recognised that the profits from seri-
ous organised crime were so great that the deterrent effect of even a lengthy
imprisonment was insignificant, as the convicted criminals knew that the illicit
gains would be available to them on their release. Various confiscation and
money laundering provisions were established under the Drug Trafficking
Offences Act 1986, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Drug Trafficking
Act 1994. However, these early confiscation regimes had not made a signifi-
cant impact on criminal assets and there were only few prosecutions and
convictions for money laundering offences. As a result, the whole assets
recovery system was reviewed in 2000 and policy implications were generated
for the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (hereinafter POCA 2002), which created
the Assets Recovery Agency (hereinafter ARA) and consolidated the criminal
law with regard to money laundering and confiscation. More importantly,
POCA 2002 has established the new civil recovery and taxation regimes under
which property obtained through unlawful conduct can be recovered without
the need for a criminal conviction. This chapter examines the development of
confiscation legislation, and discusses their limitations. It also focuses on
assessing the laws, policies and operational experiences of the civil recovery
and taxation regimes under POCA 2002.


CONFISCATION LEGISLATION PRIOR TO POCA 2002
The UK Home Office observed, `organised criminal activity is a particular


* The views expressed herein are the author' ...