Serious Crime Act 2007
Encyclopedia
The Serious Crime Act 2007 is an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
that makes several radical changes to English criminal law
. In particular, it creates a new scheme of serious crime prevention orders to frustrate crime
in England and Wales
and in Northern Ireland
, replaces the common law
crime of incitement
with a statutory
offence of encouraging or assisting crime, makes provision as to disclosure and information sharing in order to prevent fraud
, and abolishes the Assets Recovery Agency
creating a new regime for the recovery of the proceeds of crime
.
Section 1 allows the High Court of Justice
in England and Wales, and the High Court in Northern Ireland to make serious crime prevention orders containing prohibitions, restrictions, requirements and other terms where:
The burden of proof of these issues is on the person applying for the order on the balance of probabilities (ss.35-36). Orders can only be imposed on individuals aged 18 or over (s.6) and only at the instigation of the Director of Public Prosecutions
, Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, or Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland
(s.8). Orders must be of specified duration, not exceeding 5 years (s.14)
A serious crime prevention order is a new kind of civil
injunction
, breach of which is a crime, punishable
on summary conviction in the Magistrates' Court
by up to 6 month's imprisonment
and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale
. If convicted on indictment
in the Crown Court
, a person can be imprisoned for up to 5 years and given an unlimited fine (s.25). The court also has powers of forfeiture
(s.26) and liquidation
of a corporation (ss.27-29).
A person has been involved in serious crime if he has (s.2):
An order imposed on an individual, including a partner
, can include requirements as to, but not limited to (s.5(3)):
An order imposed on a body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association can include requirements as to, but not limited to (s.5(4)):
An individual or organisation can be required to answer questions, or provide information or documents, at a time, within a period or at a frequency, and place, in a manner and form specified to a law enforecement officer](s.5(5)). A person cannot be ordered to give oral information (s.11) nor information in breach of legal professional privilege (s.12).
Serious offences include (Sch.1):
with notice (s.10). Third parties may make representations to the hearing if they would be affected by the order (s.9).
In England and Wales, where a person is convicted of a serious offence in the Crown Court, or committed for sentencing
from the Magistrates' Court, the Crown Court can make an order (s.19).
The courts have wide powers to vary or discharge orders (ss.18-19, 20-22) and there is also a route of appeal
from the Crown Court or High Court to the Court of Appeal by any party involved (ss.23-24).
A law enforcement agency may appoint authorised monitors to supervise compliance with the order and the court may order that the subject of an order pay the costs of the monitoring (ss.39-40).
Section 59 abolishes the common law
offence of incitement
in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland, and replaces it with three new offences:
A person is not taken to have intended to encourage or assist an offence merely because such encouragement or assistance was a foreseeable consequence of his act. The offence is triable in the same manner, summarily or on indictment, as the anticipated offence (s.55(1)) and, on conviction, a person can be sentence
d to the same penalty as applies to the anticipated offence (s.58).
The offence is triable in the same manner, summarily or on indictment, as the anticipated offence (s.55(1)) and, on conviction, a person can be sentenced to the same penalty as applies to the anticipated offence (s.58).
The offence is triable on indictment (s.55(2)) and, on conviction, a person can be sentenced to the maximum penalty of those applying to the anticipated offences (s.58).
Where an offence exists to protect a certain class of persons, such a person does not commit an offence under ss.44-46 if the anticipated offence would have been committed against him (s.51).
(s.93).
Section 68 authorises the disclosure by public bodies of information for the purposes of preventing fraud to any anti-fraud organisation, defined as "any unincorporated association, body corporate or other person which enables or facilitates any sharing of information to prevent fraud or a particular kind of fraud or which has any of these functions as its purpose or one of its purposes". Such disclosure must not contravene the Data Protection Act 1998 or the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
and must be subject to a defined Code of Practice (s.71).
It is a crime for a person to make further unauthorised disclosure of such information (s.69). On summary conviction, an offender can be sentenced to up to 12 months' imprisonment and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale
. On indictment in the Crown Court, an offender can be sentenced to up to two years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine (s.70).
Section 73 and Schedule 7 authorise certain bodies to conduct data matching exercises for the purpose of preventing or detecting fraud. Data matching is any "exercise involving the comparison of sets of data
to determine how far they match (including the identification of any pattern
s and trends)". The authorised bodies are:
These provisions put on a statutory basis the National Fraud Initiative that has been operated for some years by the same authorised bodies and by Audit Scotland
.
, its property, rights and liabilities to the Serious Organised Crime Agency
and the National Policing Improvement Agency
started in anticipation of the Agency's abolition (s.74/ Schs.8-9). The Agency ceased to exist on 1 April 2008. Sections 75 to 81 make various amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
.
. These provision fall under the Sewel convention which demands the consent of the Scottish Parliament
for Westminster
to legislate on devolved issues. Such consent was granted.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
that makes several radical changes to English criminal law
English criminal law
English criminal law refers to the body of law in the jurisdiction of England and Wales which deals with crimes and their consequences. Criminal acts are considered offences against the whole of a community...
. In particular, it creates a new scheme of serious crime prevention orders to frustrate crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
and in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, replaces the common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
crime of incitement
Incitement
In English criminal law, incitement was an anticipatory common law offence and was the act of persuading, encouraging, instigating, pressuring, or threatening so as to cause another to commit a crime....
with a statutory
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
offence of encouraging or assisting crime, makes provision as to disclosure and information sharing in order to prevent fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, and abolishes the Assets Recovery Agency
Assets Recovery Agency
The Assets Recovery Agency was a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom. It was established under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to reduce crime by confiscating the proceeds of any crime...
creating a new regime for the recovery of the proceeds of crime
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides for the confiscation or civil recovery of the proceeds from crime and contains the principal money laundering legislation in the UK.-Background:...
.
Serious crime prevention orders
These provisions came into force on 6 April 2008.Section 1 allows the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in England and Wales, and the High Court in Northern Ireland to make serious crime prevention orders containing prohibitions, restrictions, requirements and other terms where:
- It is satisfied that a person has been involved in serious crime, whether in England and Wales, or Northern Ireland or elsewhere; and
- It has reasonable grounds to believe that the order would protect the public by preventing, restricting or disrupting involvement by the person in serious crime in England and Wales, or Northern Ireland.
The burden of proof of these issues is on the person applying for the order on the balance of probabilities (ss.35-36). Orders can only be imposed on individuals aged 18 or over (s.6) and only at the instigation of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
, Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, or Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland
Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the head of the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland, and is appointed by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland. The current DPP is Sir Alasdair Fraser CB QC.-See also:*Director of Public Prosecutions...
(s.8). Orders must be of specified duration, not exceeding 5 years (s.14)
A serious crime prevention order is a new kind of civil
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
, breach of which is a crime, punishable
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
on summary conviction in the Magistrates' Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...
by up to 6 month's imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale
Standard scale
The standard scale is a system whereby financial criminal penalties in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it necessary to increase the levels of the fines the legislators need to modify only the scale rather than each individual piece of...
. If convicted on indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
in the Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, a person can be imprisoned for up to 5 years and given an unlimited fine (s.25). The court also has powers of forfeiture
Asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture is confiscation, by the State, of assets which are either the alleged proceeds of crime or the alleged instrumentalities of crime, and more recently, alleged terrorism. Instrumentalities of crime are property that was allegedly used to facilitate crime, for example cars...
(s.26) and liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
of a corporation (ss.27-29).
A person has been involved in serious crime if he has (s.2):
- Committed a serious offence;
- Facilitated the commission by another person of a serious offence; or
- Conducted himself in a way that was likely to facilitate the commission by himself or another person of a serious offence, whether or not such an offence was committed.
An order imposed on an individual, including a partner
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
, can include requirements as to, but not limited to (s.5(3)):
- FinancialFINANCIALFINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
, propertyPropertyProperty is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
or businessBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
dealings or holdings; - Working arrangements;
- Means by which an individual communicates or associates with others, or the persons with whom he communicates or associates;
- Premises to which an individual has access;
- Use of any premises or item by an individual;
- Travel, whether within the United Kingdom, between the United Kingdom and other places or otherwise.
An order imposed on a body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association can include requirements as to, but not limited to (s.5(4)):
- Financial, property or business dealings or holdings;
- Types of agreements to which such persons may be a party;
- Provision of goods or services;
- Premises to which such persons have access;
- Use of any premises or item by such persons;
- EmploymentEmploymentEmployment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
of staff.
An individual or organisation can be required to answer questions, or provide information or documents, at a time, within a period or at a frequency, and place, in a manner and form specified to a law enforecement officer](s.5(5)). A person cannot be ordered to give oral information (s.11) nor information in breach of legal professional privilege (s.12).
Serious offences
In England and Wales, a serious offence is one of those specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1, or one which "the court considers to be sufficiently serious to be treated for the purposes of the application or matter as if it were so specified." A similar definition exists for Northern Ireland (Sch.2/ Pt.2). For crimes committed abroad, the test is whether they would be crimes in England and Wales, or Northern Ireland, or whether they are serious enough to be so treated (s.2).Serious offences include (Sch.1):
- Drug trafficking
- Human traffickingHuman traffickingHuman trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
- Arms trafficking
- ProstitutionProstitutionProstitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and Child sexChild sexual abuseChild sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to... - Armed robbery
- Money launderingMoney launderingMoney laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
- FraudFraudIn criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
- Tax evasionTax evasionTax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
and revenue offences - CorruptionPolitical corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and briberyBriberyBribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or... - BlackmailBlackmailIn common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
- Intellectual propertyIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
offences - Environmental crimeEnvironmental crimeEnvironmental crime can be broadly defined as illegal acts, which directly harmthe environment. International bodies such as the G8, Interpol, EU, UN Environment Programme and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute have recognised the following environmental crimes:* Illegal...
s - AttemptAttemptAttempt was originally an offence under the common law of England.Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself: the actions must go beyond mere preparation....
ing, conspiringConspiracy (crime)In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, encouraging or assisting, or aiding or abettingAccessory (legal term)An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
such an offence.
Procedure
For an order to be valid, the subject must be represented at the hearing or servedService of process
Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...
with notice (s.10). Third parties may make representations to the hearing if they would be affected by the order (s.9).
In England and Wales, where a person is convicted of a serious offence in the Crown Court, or committed for sentencing
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
from the Magistrates' Court, the Crown Court can make an order (s.19).
The courts have wide powers to vary or discharge orders (ss.18-19, 20-22) and there is also a route of appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
from the Crown Court or High Court to the Court of Appeal by any party involved (ss.23-24).
A law enforcement agency may appoint authorised monitors to supervise compliance with the order and the court may order that the subject of an order pay the costs of the monitoring (ss.39-40).
Encouraging or assisting crime
Part 2 of the Act came into force on 1 October 2008.Section 59 abolishes the common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
offence of incitement
Incitement
In English criminal law, incitement was an anticipatory common law offence and was the act of persuading, encouraging, instigating, pressuring, or threatening so as to cause another to commit a crime....
in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland, and replaces it with three new offences:
Intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence
Section 44 creates the crime of:- Doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence; and
- IntendingIntention in English lawIn English criminal law, intention is one of the types of mens rea that, when accompanied by an actus reus , constitutes a crime.-The standard definitions:...
to encourage or assist its commission.
A person is not taken to have intended to encourage or assist an offence merely because such encouragement or assistance was a foreseeable consequence of his act. The offence is triable in the same manner, summarily or on indictment, as the anticipated offence (s.55(1)) and, on conviction, a person can be sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
d to the same penalty as applies to the anticipated offence (s.58).
Encouraging or assisting an offence believing it will be committed
Section 45 creates the crime of:- Doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence; and
- Believing that:
- The offence will be committed; and
- His act will encourage or assist its commission.
The offence is triable in the same manner, summarily or on indictment, as the anticipated offence (s.55(1)) and, on conviction, a person can be sentenced to the same penalty as applies to the anticipated offence (s.58).
Encouraging or assisting offences believing one or more will be committed
Section 46 creates the crime of:- Doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of one or more of a number of offences; and
- Believing that:
- One or more of those offences will be committed, but having no belief as to which; and
- His act will encourage or assist the commission of one or more of them.
The offence is triable on indictment (s.55(2)) and, on conviction, a person can be sentenced to the maximum penalty of those applying to the anticipated offences (s.58).
Defences
It is a defence that a person acted reasonably, based on his knowledge or belief, considering the seriousness of the anticipated offence and the purpose and authority with which he acted (s.50). The burden of proof of such facts is on the defendant on the balance of probabilities.Where an offence exists to protect a certain class of persons, such a person does not commit an offence under ss.44-46 if the anticipated offence would have been committed against him (s.51).
Disclosure and sharing of information to prevent fraud
These provisions began to come into force as of 1 March 2008 and affect various parts of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(s.93).
Section 68 authorises the disclosure by public bodies of information for the purposes of preventing fraud to any anti-fraud organisation, defined as "any unincorporated association, body corporate or other person which enables or facilitates any sharing of information to prevent fraud or a particular kind of fraud or which has any of these functions as its purpose or one of its purposes". Such disclosure must not contravene the Data Protection Act 1998 or the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications...
and must be subject to a defined Code of Practice (s.71).
It is a crime for a person to make further unauthorised disclosure of such information (s.69). On summary conviction, an offender can be sentenced to up to 12 months' imprisonment and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale
Standard scale
The standard scale is a system whereby financial criminal penalties in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it necessary to increase the levels of the fines the legislators need to modify only the scale rather than each individual piece of...
. On indictment in the Crown Court, an offender can be sentenced to up to two years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine (s.70).
Section 73 and Schedule 7 authorise certain bodies to conduct data matching exercises for the purpose of preventing or detecting fraud. Data matching is any "exercise involving the comparison of sets of data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
to determine how far they match (including the identification of any pattern
Pattern
A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...
s and trends)". The authorised bodies are:
- Audit CommissionAudit CommissionThe Audit Commission is a public corporation in the United Kingdom.The Commission’s primary objective is to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local government, housing and the health service, directly through the audit and inspection process and also through value for money...
- Auditor General for WalesAuditor General for WalesThe Auditor General for Wales is the public official in charge of the Wales Audit Office, the body responsible for auditing the Welsh Assembly Government, its public bodies, National Health Service bodies and local government in Wales...
- Comptroller and Auditor GeneralComptroller and Auditor GeneralComptroller and auditor-general is the abbreviated title of a government official in a number of jurisdictions, including the UK, the Republic of Ireland, India, and China....
for Northern Ireland
These provisions put on a statutory basis the National Fraud Initiative that has been operated for some years by the same authorised bodies and by Audit Scotland
Audit Scotland
Audit Scotland is an independent public body in Scotland which was established in 2000 and is responsible for auditing most of Scotland's public organisations. These include the Scottish Government, local councils and NHS Scotland....
.
Proceeds of crime
As of 1 March 2008, the transfer of the Director and staff of the Assets Recovery AgencyAssets Recovery Agency
The Assets Recovery Agency was a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom. It was established under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to reduce crime by confiscating the proceeds of any crime...
, its property, rights and liabilities to the Serious Organised Crime Agency
Serious Organised Crime Agency
The Serious Organised Crime Agency is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom under Home Office sponsorship...
and the National Policing Improvement Agency
National Policing Improvement Agency
The United Kingdom's National Policing Improvement Agency is a non-departmental public body established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment.-Background:...
started in anticipation of the Agency's abolition (s.74/ Schs.8-9). The Agency ceased to exist on 1 April 2008. Sections 75 to 81 make various amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides for the confiscation or civil recovery of the proceeds from crime and contains the principal money laundering legislation in the UK.-Background:...
.
Territorial extent and devolved matters
The provisions largely apply to England and Wales, and Northern Ireland but some provisions, as to disclosure and sharing of information and proceeds of crime, apply in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. These provision fall under the Sewel convention which demands the consent of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
for Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
to legislate on devolved issues. Such consent was granted.