The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 provides a power to;
- immediately restrain you from dealing with your assets (section 41)
- require you to file a statement disclosing your assets
- if you fail to abide by the Restraint Order, you may be imprisoned for contempt.
It is essential that advice is sought as soon as a restraint order is served so that steps can be taken to discharge it or vary it. Otherwise, you can be held in contempt and imprisoned for non-compliance.
Restraint orders (sometimes known as “freezing orders”) are frequently used by investigating authorities and prosecution to prevent you from dealing with your assets whether or not they have been lawfully acquired. They control your ability to deal with your own property.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 allows the investigator to apply to a Crown Court judge, ex parte, to restrain the assets of a suspect/defendant or even a third party associated to the accused, such as a business associate or family member. Once an order is served, it is usual practice for the authorities to notify the banks and financial institutions to ensure that accounts cannot be emptied or assets dissipated. This causes a huge amount of distress and inconvenience to the people involved as credit cards, and direct debits will no longer be honoured.
Restraint orders are freestanding orders and can be served even before criminal proceedings have been initiated. They are commonly used in complex criminal investigations where there is an allegation of fraud or a serious drugs conspiracy. The police will usually execute a search warrant and serve a restraint order at the same time.
If you have been served with a restraint order, then you are not entitled to deal with any of your assets whether or not specified or identified by the restraint order; to do so would put you at risk of being in contempt of court.
If you have been served with a restraint order, or you are a third party with an interest in an asset which has been frozen by a restraint order, then please contact us immediately.
- We can take steps to ensure that your interests are protected.
- We can examine the circumstances in which the restraint order was served and make an application to discharge the restraint order.
- We can negotiate with the authorities to allow bills to be paid and living expenses to be maintained.
- We can make an application to vary the terms of the restraint order to enable you to continue with your businesses day-to-day activities.
Please see examples of our cases where we have been able to assist our clients.
For further action, information, advice and representation at court, please call or e-mail us on the details provided.
