Proceeds of Crime Act Solicitors

You may be dealing with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) if:

• The police have seized your cash.
• Your bank account has been frozen.
• You have been served with a restraint order.
• The prosecution has asked for confiscation after a conviction.

These are four different procedures, in different courts, with different tests and deadlines. Identifying the right one early is often what decides how much you keep.

We act in POCA proceedings of every size, from a few thousand pounds seized at a roadside stop to confiscation cases worth millions. We work in the Magistrates’ Court, the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal. We can take over the POCA side of your case even if another firm represented you at trial.

Need help now? WhatsApp or text 07341 460903, 24 hours a day. If you have been arrested, ask for Bird & Co Solicitors at the police station. Legal advice there is free for everyone, whatever their means.

In brief: the four ways POCA reaches your money

Money laundering is different again. It is a criminal offence under POCA, not a way of recovering assets, and we cover it further down this page.

What changed on 29 June 2026

Large parts of POCA’s confiscation and restraint rules were rewritten by the Crime and Policing Act 2026, in force from 29 June 2026. Much of what you will read online still describes the old law. These are the changes that matter most:

• A stated purpose. Confiscation powers must now be used to take away a defendant’s benefit from crime, so far as it is within their means (new s.5A).
• Sentence first, then a timetable. The old “postponement” rules have gone. The court sentences you, then sets a timetable for confiscation before the sentencing hearing ends. It must not impose fines or compensation in the meantime (s.15A).
• Early resolution meetings. The court can direct the prosecution and defence to meet and try to agree whether an order is needed, and for how much (ss.15B–15C). Someone with an interest in key property, such as a co-owner of the family home, may be allowed to attend.
• A “criminal lifestyle” is easier to find. A “course of criminal activity” now needs two or more other offences in the same proceedings, down from three. It also covers conduct you intended to benefit from (s.75(3)). This applies only where the conduct took place on or after 29 June 2026 (Sch. 21 para. 4(3)).
• Hidden property. If the court finds you have hidden assets, it must put a value on them and add it to what you are treated as able to pay (s.9A).
• Restraint. The focus is now on whether there is a real risk that assets will be dissipated. There is also new guidance on allowances for living expenses (s.41).

Two further changes have been passed but are not yet in force:

• A provisional discharge of confiscation orders after two years (ss.24A–24C).
• A new enforcement regime (ss.35A–35R).

Until they commence, the existing default-sentence rules still apply.

Which rules apply to you depends on dates. The key dates are when the conduct happened, when you were convicted, and when the confiscation timetable was set. Many cases now straddle 29 June 2026, so we check which version of the law governs yours before we advise.

Confiscation orders

A confiscation order is not a fine, and nobody arrives to take your belongings. It is an order to pay a sum of money, made in the Crown Court after a conviction. The court works through three questions.

1. Do you have a criminal lifestyle? You do if any one of these applies:

• You are convicted of a listed offence, such as drug trafficking, money laundering or people trafficking.
• The offence is part of a course of criminal activity.
• The offence was committed over at least six months.

• The last two count only where the benefit is at least £5,000 (s.75).

1. What was your benefit? If you have a criminal lifestyle, the court looks back six years from the start of proceedings (the “six-year rule”). It assumes that property you received and money you spent in that period came from crime (s.10). It must not apply an assumption that is shown to be wrong, or one that would risk serious injustice. Without a criminal lifestyle, benefit is limited to the offences themselves.
2. What is the available amount? This is your free property, minus debts that take priority, plus any “tainted gifts” (transfers to others for significantly less than their value), plus any hidden property (s.9).

The order is for the benefit figure or the available amount, whichever is lower. If you have nothing, the court makes an order for a nominal sum (s.7).

Paying the order. The full amount is due on the day the order is made. If you need time, the court can allow up to three months. That can be extended on application, but never beyond six months from the date of the order (s.11). Unpaid sums carry interest at 8% a year (s.12). If you do not pay, you face a default prison term. Serving it does not cancel the debt (s.38(5)).

More detail is on our confiscation orders page, and in our guide to whether confiscation can reach the family home.

The confiscation hearing

Most of the work in a confiscation case happens before the final hearing. This is also where most of the money is won or lost.

• The timetable. It is set at sentence, and the court can revise it later (s.15A).
• The prosecution’s statement. The prosecution serves a “statement of information” setting out its case on your benefit and your assets. The court can order you to say which allegations you accept, and to give details of anything you dispute (s.17). What you accept can be treated as conclusive, so your response needs care, not speed.
• An early resolution meeting. The court may direct the two sides to meet to narrow the issues or agree a figure.
• Other people’s interests. If a spouse, partner or relative has an interest in property the court is valuing, the court must give them a reasonable opportunity to be heard before it decides your share (s.10A).
• The hearing itself. The court decides your benefit and the available amount, usually with financial and valuation evidence on both sides.

We challenge benefit figures and lifestyle assumptions, prove where legitimate money came from, and make sure property and joint ownership are valued correctly. Where forensic accountants are needed, we instruct them early.

Restraint orders

A restraint order freezes your assets. The prosecution can apply to the Crown Court once a criminal investigation has started, before any charge, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect you have benefited from crime (s.40). Once it is made:

• You cannot sell, transfer or spend the restrained property.
• Banks and others holding your assets are told.
• You may be ordered to disclose what you own.

An order must allow payments you owe towards legal aid (s.41(2A)). It can also allow reasonable living expenses and let you carry on a business (s.41(3)).

Breaching a restraint order is contempt of court. Never move or spend restrained assets without the court’s permission or the prosecution’s written agreement.

We:

• Check whether the legal test, including the real risk of dissipation, is actually met.
• Negotiate a realistic living allowance and business exceptions.
• Apply to vary or discharge the order.
• Act for family members whose own assets have been caught by it.

Cash seizure, frozen bank accounts and other assets

Cash and valuables. Part 5 of POCA lets the police, HMRC, Border Force and other agencies seize cash they suspect comes from crime or is meant for it. No arrest or charge is needed. The same rules cover “listed assets”: precious metals and stones, watches, artistic works, face-value vouchers and postage stamps (s.303B). There are separate powers for cryptoassets.

How long they can keep it. Seized cash can be held for 48 hours, not counting weekends and bank holidays. After that, the Magistrates’ Court can extend detention six months at a time, up to a maximum of two years from the first order (s.295). The agency can then apply for forfeiture, which is decided on the balance of probabilities (s.241(3)). That is the civil standard, lower than in a criminal trial.

Bank accounts. An account freezing order can hold money in a bank or building society account for up to two years (s.303Z3). It can be followed by an application for account forfeiture.

In both kinds of case you can:

• Apply for release of the money.
• Oppose continued detention.
• Contest forfeiture.

If you receive a forfeiture notice, object within the period it gives. If you don’t, the money can be forfeited without a court hearing. See our cash seizure page for how these cases run.

Money laundering charges

POCA also creates the main money laundering offences:

• Concealing, converting or transferring criminal property (s.327).
• Entering into an arrangement that facilitates it (s.328).
• Acquiring, using or possessing it (s.329).

Each carries a maximum of 14 years on indictment (s.334). They are often charged alongside drug offences, fraud or organised crime, and a conviction usually leads to confiscation. The prosecution has to prove you knew or suspected the property was criminal. That knowledge is often where these cases are fought.

Why instruct Bird & Co for POCA work

• We take cases over at any stage. This includes after conviction, at the point confiscation begins. See transferring your case.
• Crown Court and Court of Appeal experience. In R v Kinsella, the Court of Appeal overturned a Crown Court finding that our client was liable for the entire value of the proceeds of an organised robbery.
• We look for the realistic figure, not just the headline one. In R v Butler & Others at Southwark Crown Court, our client faced a £93,000 fraud. After his sentence was mitigated to 12 months, a POCA order was agreed at a nominal £1.
• Criminal and POCA work under one roof. The same team that handles your police station representation and trial understands what the confiscation case will turn on.

Past results do not guarantee the outcome of any other case.

What to do now

1. Get advice before you respond to anything. That includes a forfeiture notice, a restraint order or a statement of information. The deadlines are short.
2. Comply with any order while it is in force, even if you think it is wrong. We can challenge it properly.
3. Start gathering records of legitimate income and how your assets were bought. Useful documents include payslips, bank statements, tax returns, mortgage and loan papers, and evidence of gifts or inheritances.
4. Tell us who else has an interest in your property. A partner or relative may need to make their own representations.

Funding. Advice at the police station is free for everyone. Legal aid may be available for confiscation, restraint and forfeiture proceedings, depending on the proceedings and your means. We will check this at the outset. See funding your defence.

Speak to our POCA team. WhatsApp or text 07341 460903 at any time. Email enquiries@birdandco.co.uk, or send us an enquiry during office hours.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Proceeds of Crime Act?

It is the main law in England and Wales for recovering money and property gained from crime. It covers confiscation, restraint, cash and account forfeiture, and civil recovery, and it contains the money laundering offences. It was substantially amended on 29 June 2026.

What is a POCA hearing?

It usually means the Crown Court confiscation hearing after a conviction, where the judge decides your benefit, what you can pay and the amount of the order. The preparation beforehand matters more than the hearing day.

What is the POCA six-year rule?

If you have a “criminal lifestyle”, the court can assume that what you received and spent in the six years before proceedings began came from crime. You can rebut the assumption, and the court must not apply it where it would risk serious injustice (s.10).

How do you pay a confiscation order?

The full amount is due on the day the order is made, with up to three months (six at most) allowed if you need time. See what happens if you can’t pay a confiscation order.

How long does a confiscation order last?

Until it is paid. Interest keeps running, and serving a default sentence does not wipe out the debt. If your assets turn out to be worth less than the court assessed, you can apply to have the order reduced.

Can I appeal a confiscation order?

Yes, to the Court of Appeal. The time limits are strict, so get advice as soon as the order is made, including where another firm acted for you. See our appeals page.

This page is general information about the law of England and Wales, reviewed on 30 September 2026 against the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 as amended by the Crime and Policing Act 2026. It is not legal advice on your case.