Confiscation Orders in Regulatory Prosecutions: A Practitioner’s Guide

Introduction

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) has become an increasingly powerful enforcement tool, particularly in regulatory prosecutions. Confiscation orders can far exceed any financial penalty imposed by the court, while enforcement agencies have a financial incentive to pursue them. As a result, solicitors advising regulated businesses must consider POCA risks from the outset of any investigation or prosecution.

This webinar examines confiscation and restraint orders where otherwise lawful business activities give rise to criminal liability, exposing businesses and individuals to potentially substantial confiscation proceedings. It will explore the key principles, practical defence strategies and leading authorities, including R v McDowell and Singh, Boyle Transport (Northern Ireland) Ltd v R and R v Palmer.

The webinar will also cover pre-charge restraint orders, civil bank account forfeiture risks and the significant reforms introduced by the Crime and Policing Act 2026, including the new Early Resolution of Confiscation (EROC) meeting process.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• The ‘narrow but critical distinction’ between an offence that criminalises the underlying activity itself and one that merely penalises the absence of a licence and the importance of getting this right
• How benefit from criminal conduct is calculated in regulatory cases - trading receipts versus pecuniary advantage
• When a corporate body is, or should be, the defendant: the impact of charging decisions on confiscation exposure
• Lifting the corporate veil - when corporate assets can be treated as realisable property for the purpose of an order against an individual and when they cannot
• The role of the principle of proportionality in regulatory confiscation proceedings
• Pre-charge restraint orders under s.40 POCA: challenging and varying restraint
• Civil bank account freezing and forfeiture orders under Part 5 POCA: increasingly deployed by regulatory authorities alongside or instead of criminal confiscation proceedings
• Key changes under the Crime and Policing Act 2026: the amended burden of proof on recoverable amount and the new EROC (Early Resolution of Confiscation) meeting process