Restraint and confiscation

Applications for restraint orders

Restraint orders made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) have the effect of freezing property and preserving the assets belonging to a defendant which may be necessary to meet a confiscation order following a successful prosecution and conviction. A restraint order also affects third parties. A restraint order will be made against a defendant or the person under investigation and against any other person holding that person’s realisable property. It will prevent any person having notice of the order from dealing with the restrained person’s realisable property, wholly or in part, where it could be used to satisfy a confiscation order, or else risk being in contempt of court. The court has wide powers to make other orders as it believes appropriate for the purpose of ensuring the restraint order is effective. The powers include, for example, ordering a person to disclose the extent and whereabouts of their assets. For further information, see Practice Note: Restraint orders. This considers the discretionary power to make a restraint order against property under POCA 2002, ss 40–