 |
| Picture from blowger.net |
If' you are being sued for Proceeds of Crime Act in UK you need to pay attention in your case especially if you are an immigrant, so you could be hold in prison after your sentence finished or you could be hold in an Immigration detention centre in till the process finish, at the end of the process if any order made against you if you do not pay you then will be a default sentence even though you will need to pay with a additional charge of 8% P/A on top of the order.
1.The Serious Crime Act 2015 (“the 2015 Act”) received Royal Assent on 3 March. The 2015 Act gives effect to a number of legislative proposals set out in the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy published in October 2013 and, in doing so, will ensure that the National Crime Agency, the police and other law enforcement agencies have the powers they need to pursue, disrupt and bring to justice those engaged in organised crime.
2. This circular provides details of those provisions in the 2015 Act (Part 1) which make amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). It also covers other amendments made to POCA by the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (PCA) and the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (CCA). All amendments detailed in this document are scheduled to come into force on 1 June 2015.
Font Home Office.
Confiscation Orders
The Government is placing more and more emphasis on “taking the cash out of crime” and resources are being invested to ensure convicted defendants are stripped of any benefit they may have received from crime. This new regime started with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (which governs all offences committed on or after 24 March 2003) and continues to gather momentum as a key government target. An outline of the provisions of the Act appeared in the December 2007 issue of Inside Time. Recent changes in working methods have made the confiscation order regime more rigorous and more effective.
There are now specialised units (within Her Majesty’s Courts Service, the police and the prosecution) whose remit is to ‘chase up’ and enforce outstanding confiscation orders. All such orders are now part of a national computerised database and each order that has not been paid within the time ordered by a court is individually monitored and reviewed on a weekly and monthly basis.
In general terms, what does this mean for someone who has a confiscation order and it has not been paid?
Do not ignore a confiscation order … it will not go away or be forgotten about!
If you don’t pay it could lead to you serving an extra period of imprisonment after you have served your current sentence and to you being arrested and brought before a court soon after your release.
Even if you serve a term of imprisonment for not paying your confiscation order you will still have to pay the order in full and any interest which has accumulated on your release. Interest accumulates at 8% every year on any confiscation order that has not been paid in full. For example, if an order is for £40,000, the daily interest rate is over £8.
What should you do?
Contact the specialised enforcement team at the HMCS Regional Confiscation Unit. There are nine units located throughout England & Wales – details below. If you are unsure of which unit you should contact then ask your probation officer or a prison officer who will find out for you.
The regional confiscation unit will be able to provide information on how much the confiscation order is for, when it should be paid by, and how long the period of imprisonment will be if you have to serve extra time if it is not paid. Also, how much interest is added to your order, which means how much extra money you will have to pay on top of the order amount. Details can also be obtained of what assets were identified by the Crown Court e.g. cars, houses, boats, that can be sold to pay the confiscation order.
If enforcement proceedings are taken against you, they will inform you who you need to contact.
If you do have assets to sell
Seek the assistance of friends or relatives in selling assets. The confiscation order is based on the Crown Court’s assessment of your “realisable assets” (not your current income). If the family do not sell any of these assets there may be a forced sale of these via bailiffs. Any monies received after the imposition of the default sentence by the enforcing magistrates’ court will reduce the amount of time you have to serve.
If property has been seized, co-operate and sign any consent forms so that it can be sold speedily and paid against your confiscation order.
The magistrates’ court cannot change the order made by the Crown Court. If the Crown Court found that an offender has £500,000 in ‘hidden assets’ or a £300,000 share in a property, then there is no point in asking the magistrates’ to reconsider these findings.
If you choose to ignore the order, the regional confiscation unit is likely to seek a production order for you to attend the magistrates’ court. This may involve a round trip of several hundred miles and may mean your rehabilitation arrangements are interrupted while you spend several days in a local prison. It is not currently possible to conduct enforcement hearings via video links.
Regional confiscation units are developing further ways of enforcing confiscation orders in the civil courts. This could affect an offender’s credit rating for a period long after release from prison.
It is also important to remember that a confiscation order can be enforced against a deceased’s estate.
Criminal justice agencies are ensuring that all information for outstanding confiscation orders is readily available at all times. For example, if a warrant is issued for non-payment of a confiscation order, customs officials and Airline Officials will be notified when you attempt to leave or enter the UK.
So, if you have a confiscation order to pay seek advice or contact the relevant regional confiscation unit. Do not ignore the order or sit back and think it will go away – IT WON’T!
The contact details for the regional confiscation units are:
HMCS London Regional Confiscation Unit, Dept 2646, PO Box 31092, London SW1P 3WS Telephone: 020 7556 8556.
HMCS North West (Merseyside & Cheshire) Confiscation Unit, PO Box 139, Liverpool L18 9WB Telephone: 0151 777 1307
HMCS East Midlands Regional Confiscation Unit, Upper Bond Street, Hinckley, Leicestershire LE101NZ-Telephone:01455638880
HMCS West Midlands Regional Confiscation Unit, Central Finance Unit, Victoria Law Courts, Corporation Street, Birmingham B4 6QF Telephone: 0121 250 6701 – 6705
HMCS North East Regional Confiscation Unit, PO BOX 298, Leeds LS14 9DE Telephone: 0113 264 6318
HMCS North West (Bolton) Regional Confiscation Unit 22 Queen Street, Bolton BL1 1EZ Telephone: 01204 557426
HMCS South East Regional Confiscation Unit, Dover Magistrates Court, Pencester Road, Dover, Kent Telephone: 01304 218610/218639
HMCS South West Regional Confiscation Unit, PO Box 531, Weston-super-Mare BS23 9ES Telephone: 01934 528567
HMCS Wales Regional Confiscation Unit, PO Box 14, Cramic Way, Port Talbot, SA13 1RU Telephone: 01656 310220
Font Insidetime.
There are now specialised units (within Her Majesty’s Courts Service, the police and the prosecution) whose remit is to ‘chase up’ and enforce outstanding confiscation orders. All such orders are now part of a national computerised database and each order that has not been paid within the time ordered by a court is individually monitored and reviewed on a weekly and monthly basis.
In general terms, what does this mean for someone who has a confiscation order and it has not been paid?
Do not ignore a confiscation order … it will not go away or be forgotten about!
If you don’t pay it could lead to you serving an extra period of imprisonment after you have served your current sentence and to you being arrested and brought before a court soon after your release.
Even if you serve a term of imprisonment for not paying your confiscation order you will still have to pay the order in full and any interest which has accumulated on your release. Interest accumulates at 8% every year on any confiscation order that has not been paid in full. For example, if an order is for £40,000, the daily interest rate is over £8.
What should you do?
Contact the specialised enforcement team at the HMCS Regional Confiscation Unit. There are nine units located throughout England & Wales – details below. If you are unsure of which unit you should contact then ask your probation officer or a prison officer who will find out for you.
The regional confiscation unit will be able to provide information on how much the confiscation order is for, when it should be paid by, and how long the period of imprisonment will be if you have to serve extra time if it is not paid. Also, how much interest is added to your order, which means how much extra money you will have to pay on top of the order amount. Details can also be obtained of what assets were identified by the Crown Court e.g. cars, houses, boats, that can be sold to pay the confiscation order.
If enforcement proceedings are taken against you, they will inform you who you need to contact.
If you do have assets to sell
Seek the assistance of friends or relatives in selling assets. The confiscation order is based on the Crown Court’s assessment of your “realisable assets” (not your current income). If the family do not sell any of these assets there may be a forced sale of these via bailiffs. Any monies received after the imposition of the default sentence by the enforcing magistrates’ court will reduce the amount of time you have to serve.
If property has been seized, co-operate and sign any consent forms so that it can be sold speedily and paid against your confiscation order.
The magistrates’ court cannot change the order made by the Crown Court. If the Crown Court found that an offender has £500,000 in ‘hidden assets’ or a £300,000 share in a property, then there is no point in asking the magistrates’ to reconsider these findings.
If you choose to ignore the order, the regional confiscation unit is likely to seek a production order for you to attend the magistrates’ court. This may involve a round trip of several hundred miles and may mean your rehabilitation arrangements are interrupted while you spend several days in a local prison. It is not currently possible to conduct enforcement hearings via video links.
Regional confiscation units are developing further ways of enforcing confiscation orders in the civil courts. This could affect an offender’s credit rating for a period long after release from prison.
It is also important to remember that a confiscation order can be enforced against a deceased’s estate.
Criminal justice agencies are ensuring that all information for outstanding confiscation orders is readily available at all times. For example, if a warrant is issued for non-payment of a confiscation order, customs officials and Airline Officials will be notified when you attempt to leave or enter the UK.
So, if you have a confiscation order to pay seek advice or contact the relevant regional confiscation unit. Do not ignore the order or sit back and think it will go away – IT WON’T!
The contact details for the regional confiscation units are:
HMCS London Regional Confiscation Unit, Dept 2646, PO Box 31092, London SW1P 3WS Telephone: 020 7556 8556.
HMCS North West (Merseyside & Cheshire) Confiscation Unit, PO Box 139, Liverpool L18 9WB Telephone: 0151 777 1307
HMCS East Midlands Regional Confiscation Unit, Upper Bond Street, Hinckley, Leicestershire LE101NZ-Telephone:01455638880
HMCS West Midlands Regional Confiscation Unit, Central Finance Unit, Victoria Law Courts, Corporation Street, Birmingham B4 6QF Telephone: 0121 250 6701 – 6705
HMCS North East Regional Confiscation Unit, PO BOX 298, Leeds LS14 9DE Telephone: 0113 264 6318
HMCS North West (Bolton) Regional Confiscation Unit 22 Queen Street, Bolton BL1 1EZ Telephone: 01204 557426
HMCS South East Regional Confiscation Unit, Dover Magistrates Court, Pencester Road, Dover, Kent Telephone: 01304 218610/218639
HMCS South West Regional Confiscation Unit, PO Box 531, Weston-super-Mare BS23 9ES Telephone: 01934 528567
HMCS Wales Regional Confiscation Unit, PO Box 14, Cramic Way, Port Talbot, SA13 1RU Telephone: 01656 310220
Font Insidetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment