New provisions to introduce Unexplained Wealth Orders (‘UWOs’) to English law are part of a process to extend the powers of the state to restrain and recover assets that are thought to represent the proceeds of crime, already described as ‘draconian’ in numerous judgments.

The Criminal Finances Bill, currently under consideration by Parliament, includes a number of proposed changes to the laws on money laundering and civil recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

In the second of a two-part article, John Binns looks at the proposals on money laundering, civil recovery, and enforcement powers.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) provides for a notoriously draconian regime for making confiscation orders against defendants who are convicted in criminal proceedings. Some of its harshest features arise from the fact that it often reads as if it had been written by Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland, who said of language that ‘when I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean’.