Oral answer to question provided on Wednesday, 16 December 2009 in the House of Lords, by Lord Brett (Labour).

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Financial Investigators

Answer

My Lords, the most significant figure is £148 million: the asset recovery total for last year. It shows that rendering ill-gotten gains back to the taxpayer is an important area of our activity. Under POCA, assets can be frozen by court order from the commencement of a criminal investigation if there is reasonable cause to believe that the alleged offender has benefited from his crime and there is a real risk that he would dissipate his assets to avoid a confiscation order. The Crown Court can allow a person access to these funds for reasonable living expenses, but it would be wrong to allow access to money that is reserved for possible confiscation to fund a legal defence. After a conviction but prior to an appeal, the state can seek to enforce the confiscation order. This is a power over the defendant’s remaining in prison after a court has enforced a prison sentence or, indeed, when a fine is to be paid, even though the matter is under appeal. The action is not suspended, as conviction and sentence remain in force until overturned. If the appeal is successful, moneys or assets are returned and the proceeds of sales are returned to the original owners minus any fees incurred in realising the assets.