Consent
Section 335: Appropriate consent
489.Section 335 defines the parameters of "appropriate consent" for the purposes of the authorised disclosure provisions. A key element of this section is the specification of time limits within which a constable or customs officer must respond to suspicious transaction reports in circumstances where a consent decision is required. It specifies that consent decisions must be made within 7 working days. If nothing is heard within that time, then the discloser can go ahead with an otherwise prohibited act without an offence being committed. If consent is withheld within the 7 working days, then the constable or customs officer has a further 31 calendar days in which to take further action such as seeking a court order to restrain the assets in question. Again if nothing further is heard after the end of the 31-day period, then the discloser can proceed with the transaction with no risk of committing an offence.
Section 336: Nominated officer: consent
490.Section 336 provides that a nominated officer must not give appropriate consent unless he has authorisation from the National Criminal Intelligence Service or the time limits specified in subsections (7) to (9) have expired. These time limits mirror the limits in section 335 for the giving of consent to an otherwise prohibited act by a customs officer or constable. Section 335(5) makes it an offence for a nominated officer to consent to an otherwise prohibited act except as outlined above. A nominated officer does not commit an offence under this section if he gives consent to a transaction taking place, if he genuinely does not know or suspect that money laundering is taking place.
