Confiscation Proceedings

The CPS are advised to consider asset recovery in cases where they believe that someone has benefited financially from crime. This means that for many crimes particularly drug offences the Crown will instigate proceedings to work out what they believe the benefit was from their criminal conduct in monetary terms and then ask the Court to make an order for that amount to be repaid. The amount to be repaid will depend on the available amount or available assets that you have. There are a number of problems that arise in confiscation proceedings such as the value the Crown estimate the criminal conduct was, which can involve unrealistic drug values, numbers of crops the length of any criminal operation. An expert should always be instructed to see if this figure can be reduced as you will always owe the benefit figure regardless of what the available amount is. This can affect you financially forever. In relation to the amount ordered by the Court to be repaid, if that money is not paid generally within 3 months then you will be sent to prison for a default term and still owe the money. It is therefore vital that you instruct a firm with extensive knowledge of these types of proceedings, which we have.