The firm has particular expertise in matters relating to confiscation proceedings, cash seizure/forfeiture, restraint orders, property freezing orders and civil recovery orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The government has made no secret of the increasing emphasis on asset recovery and seizure as part of its approach to law enforcement in the UK.
This is an area of practice which is affecting more and more people who have previously not had dealings with the authorities. Clients can find themselves facing civil recovery order proceedings having never been convicted of an offence and restrictive restraint proceedings without being charged.
Effective representation in this area requires expertise and technical knowledge, a flexible and dynamic approach and understanding of the pressures these proceedings bring on our clients.
It is of course a results based business and we at Janes are proud of our record in particular in this area.
For example, in the recent Allied Deals case the Serious Fraud Office were claiming that in the confiscation proceedings the benefit figure that should be held against our client was in excess of $1 bn. Janes successfully argued that there should be no confiscation proceedings against our client and no order was made.
We have succeeded in recovering substantial sums of money on behalf of client who assets were seized from safety deposit boxes in Operation Rise (Edgware and St. Johns Wood depositaries).
