Serious Crime Act 2015

12. POCA provides for four different routes for the recovery of assets acquired as a result of criminal activity, as follows:

• Confiscation orders – following conviction for an offence. Part 2 of POCA makes provision for confiscation in England and Wales, whilst Parts 3 and 4 make broadly analogous provisions for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

• Civil recovery - this is a form of non-conviction based asset recovery that allows for the recovery of property which is, or represents, property obtained through unlawful conduct. A civil recovery order is not a conviction or a sentence, and the action is taken against the property rather than the person. Civil recovery is used when a prosecution is not possible, for example if there is insufficient evidence to create a realistic prospect of a conviction, or there is no identifiable living suspect. Part 5 of POCA provides for a UK-wide civil recovery regime.

• Seizure and forfeiture of cash - this is a non-conviction based procedure for recovering cash which is the proceeds of, or intended for use in, crime of sums of not less than £1,000. Chapter 3 of Part 5 of POCA provides for a UK-wide regime for the recovery of cash in summary proceedings.

• Criminal Taxation – also a non-conviction based power, but does not result in property being recovered – instead it allows tax to be charged on a person’s income, profits or gains where are there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they arise or accrue from criminal conduct on the part of that person or another. Only the National Crime Agency (“NCA”) can exercise the criminal taxation powers under Part 6 of POCA, but Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs retains all its usual powers in respect of taxation.