What happens when assets are tainted: financial remedies v confiscation proceedings revisited

Sarah Wood 5SAH

Following on from her 2019 article 'Financial Remedies v Confiscation Proceedings: What Takes Priority?’ ([2019] Fam Law 941) in which Sarah Wood looked in general terms about which set of proceedings should take priority this article explores in more detail the themes that emerge from the case law and considers a practical application of those principles. She also considers the options and mechanisms by which a spouse can seek to assert their interest in property in criminal confiscation proceedings using Section 10A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (‘POCA’) and reviews the most recent case-law on this topic before coming onto consider the tainted gift provisions within POCA and the impact of such a determination within the confiscation proceedings upon any subsequent financial remedies proceedings. The article is designed to analytical commentary of the relevant legal principles with practical advice for the practitioner who find themselves having to advise clients about two distinct but related sets of proceedings in which very different tests and considerations apply. 

Read the full article here.