Restraint orders and confiscation proceedings

Restraint orders, under which prosecutors seek to preserve or freeze assets with a view to their future confiscation following a criminal conviction, are now a standard feature of criminal fraud investigations. Increasingly orders are obtained at an early stage, well before any charges are made and these powers are being exercised at the request of overseas prosecuting authorities.

At Corker Binning, our lawyers are highly experienced in all areas of law and practice relating to the proceeds of crime. In particular we are skilled at advising clients and third parties who are, or may be, the subject of, or affected by, restraint orders, whether domestic or international; challenging the validity or extent of such orders; or renegotiating the terms of the orders or persuading those investigating or prosecuting to accept undertakings in place of the order (see fact sheet below).

In any case where a convicted defendant is found to have obtained financial gain, it is likely that they will face confiscation proceedings on top of their penal sentence. We have extensive experience of these proceedings and can provide advice in respect of the prosecutor’s investigation into the extent of cash or other benefits received through the offence and the amount available to a defendant to pay an eventual order.

Corker Binning is frequently called upon to advise clients of the risk of restraint orders relating to prosecutions overseas. Recent restraint confiscation work includes:

• advising Anne Darwin in the “missing canoeist” fraud prosecution in relation to the restraint order and then confiscation proceedings aimed at recouping the insurance monies she had obtained
• negotiating the release of UK property held by a trust fund which the authorities alleged was under the control of the defendant, who was not Corker Binning's client. Corker Binning persuaded the Crown Prosecution Service that the defendant did not in fact have control and that the UK property could not therefore be restrained
• negotiating on behalf of an individual client that no restraint order would be applied for, either pre or post charge, in return for an undertaking that a sum of money equal to the alleged proceeds of crime was preserved for future confiscation.

For more information about how Corker Binning can help, please call 0207 353 6000 or visit our blog to read about restraint orders under scrutiny.