The Criminal Finances Bill 2016-17 is scheduled to come into law this summer. It contains a raft of radical measures directed at the financial sector in a renewed effort to ensure that criminals cannot enjoy the fruits of their unlawful activities.
When enacted, the legislation will represent the most extensive shake-up of asset confiscation and the anti-money laundering legislation since the Proceeds of Crime Act was passed in 2002.
New offences target the criminals and the investigating authorities are given additional powers to require explanations as to the source of wealth and to confiscate criminal monies in appropriate cases.
New new acronyms such as UWO’s – which are Unexplained Wealth Orders – and new measures such as interim freezing orders, extended moratorium periods, voluntary information sharing and joint disclosure reports.
The Bill also heralds an astonishingly wide new criminal offence directed at companies and partnerships where tax evasion is committed by those associated with the company, such as its employees, agents and others who perform services for or on behalf of the company. Firms of solicitors and accountants are at real risk of committing this offence if they are not careful with whom they deal.
What you will need to be aware of:
- What is meant by the phrase ‘criminal finances’?
- Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs)
- How is unexplained wealth determined?
- Interim freezing orders
- Practice and procedure
- Money Laundering Changes
- Extending the moratorium period
- Voluntary sharing of suspicious information
- Making a joint suspicious activity disclosure report
- What this means in practice?
- Extended Civil Recovery Powers
- Recovery of listed assets in summary proceedings
- New search, seizure and detention powers
- Forfeiture Powers of Money Held in Bank or Building Society Accounts
- Corporate Facilitation of Tax Evasion
- Facilitating tax evasion
- Customers and suppliers
- Jurisdictional reach
- The defence
- Upgrading Terrorist Financing Provisions
- The Future
- New wider corporate offence of failing to prevent financial crime
The future of the AML consent regime
Courses available through MBL Seminars
Speakers: Anita Clifford and Jonathan Fisher QC
Edinburgh
25 May (Limited Places) 9:30am – 12:45pm
London
20 Jun 9:30am – 12:45pm
Manchester
29 Jun 9:30am – 12:45pm
Further information:
Call Sharon Needham or Claire Hamer 0161 793 0984
