Account freezing orders under scrutiny in a Rahman Ravelli and Doughty Street hosted civil recovery webinar

All aspects of account freezing orders and High Court civil recovery will be analysed in an upcoming Rahman Ravelli and Doughty Street hosted webinar.

The event, entitled “Account Freezing Orders and High Court Civil Recovery Criminal Practice in a Civil Age’’, will be held at 4pm UK time on Thursday December 10. It will examine account freezing orders (AFOs) from all possible perspectives and look at a range of recent and significant High Court civil recovery cases.

Criminal practitioners have been used to seeing an increase over the years in the use of non-conviction based penalties.  But COVID-19 seems to have boosted this trend. High Court civil recovery is now used regularly by the Serious Fraud Office and the National Crime Agency (NCA) and criminal solicitors are dealing with increasing numbers of clients that have been served with an AFO. 

Civil disposals of criminal offending is a growth area. The insertion of unexplained wealth orders into the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) is just another example of the expansion of the civil aspect of POCA.  For the state, there is little to lose by moving more towards non-conviction based outcomes. Over the last few years, the NCA has increasingly used POCA Part 5 civil recovery claims and Part 6 tax assessments regarding those suspected of crime but not prosecuted, and when there has been a failed prosecution.

The landscape for criminal defence lawyers is changing.  This webinar is designed to inform and assist solicitors - and those in the business and finance sectors - that need to advise individual and corporate clients who are facing a civil action brought by a criminal law enforcement agency.

The webinar is being hosted by:

Nicola Sharp. Legal Director at Rahman Ravelli. A solicitor whose reputation has grown due to, among other things, her expertise in civil recovery and her experience of leading some of the UK's most important, contentious and demanding cases. She has a track record in the most sizeable legal disputes and has been repeatedly praised by national and international legal guides for her achievements in complex cases.

Jonathan Lennon. Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. An experienced criminal barrister specialising principally in white-collar crime, asset recovery and Pt 5 civil POCA claims.  He was involved in the first High Court civil recovery case to reach the Supreme Court, SOCA v Gale [2011], and appeared for the successful applicant in the leading cash-forfeiture case of Angus v UKBA [2011].  He advises individuals and corporations on AFOs, cash forfeiture and High Court civil recovery claims.

The webinar will cover topics including:

• Account freezing orders in practice – and the first steps that need to be taken 
• Part 5 of POCA. Its importance in civil recovery and its increased use. 
• Appeals to vary and discharge freezing orders. 
• The myths and realities regarding recoverable property. 
• The POCA Section 241 definition of unlawful conduct; including notable cases such as ARA v Green [2005], ARA v Olupitan [2008] and Angus v UKBA [2011] 
• The significance of SOCA V Gale [2011], Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to a fair trial - and the standard of proof. 

Registration is now closed.