The implementation of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 has seen an exponential increase in the number of Confiscation Orders meted out by the Crown Court. As a consequence, this draconian piece of legislation increased the regulatory burdens on solicitors and put them in real fear of being investigated and prosecuted for assisting their clients in alleged activities of money laundering. The best way to deal with such transactions is at arms length; thereby still retaining the trust and confidence of your client and at the same time protecting yourself from spurious accusations being made by the prosecuting authorities.
We are able to provide this highly specialised and unique service for the following reasons:
- we are Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) approved to offer money laundering compliance training to solicitors
- we have systems in place that will protect you from money laundering accusations
- we have expertise in dealing with white collar crime and POCA cases
- we can handle the sale of any asset including a business/company as a going concern
- we have specialist conveyancers and corporate lawyers who have dealt with the sale of restrained assets
- we have facilitated the sale of assets from domestic properties to multi-million pound companies
- we understand the issues and the procedural requirements
- we have a good reputation and relationship with the other interested agencies.
We fully understand that where Restraint Orders or Confiscation Orders have been made, the expectation of the Court will be that the assets in question will need to be sold. It is that process which causes the most concern to clients and a level of uneasiness with their solicitors when it comes to the disposal of those assets. With the best will in the world, how many of us would place our professional reputation in the hands of our criminal clients?
This is a very technical area of the law which requires burdensome money laundering obligations to be fulfilled. Extreme care and caution needs to be exercised because of the very real risk that the prosecuting authorities will re-examine the whole circumstances of a transaction if they are not completely satisfied that the sale of the assets took place in the utmost good faith. A mere suggestion that the property has been sold at a slight discount to a buyer, who has a remote connection to the seller, may be enough for the prosecuting authorities to investigate the solicitor and for an arrest to follow on trumped-up money laundering charges.
As a firm we have an expertise in money laundering training (SRA approved) as well as technical know how in Regulatory Money Laundering compliance. We are therefore well equipped to deal with a transaction at arms length thereby protecting you from any direct involvement in a sale and therefore any accusation of misconduct.
We have direct experience of dealing with all the relevant agencies, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Regional Asset Recovery Team, The Director of the Asset Recovery Agency, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Central Confiscation Unit, the Crown Court and the prosecuting authority’s investigating officer. Crucially, we have the necessary technical POCA knowledge combined with solid money laundering compliance systems that allow us to handle the sale of an asset from the moment a Restraint Order is imposed right through any criminal proceedings to when a Confiscation Order is made and satisfied.
We are able to offer theses advantages to other Solicitors whether specialist conveyancers, corporate lawyers or criminal litigators in dealing with the sale of restrained assets at arms length. We will take care of the sale of that property for you and on behalf of your client without risk to you. We are the true pioneers of this specialist service. We are able to liaise with the prosecuting authorities concerning our involvement and draft or agree all manner of variations to facilitate the disposal of assets. We can also appear before the Crown Court (without counsel) and can make any application that is necessary.
Should you have any further questions or queries, then please refer those to Isaac Mirza (Isaac.mirza@jmw.co.uk) or Andrew Garvie (Andrew.garvie@jmw.co.uk) of JMW Solicitors.
