Civil Recovery Team
The Civil Recovery Team (CRT) works to deny organised crime groups of assets they obtained from unlawful conduct through civil recovery investigations.
These investigations are heard in the High Court and fall under Part 5 of Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), which means assets can be seized without needing a criminal conviction.
Assets include houses, overseas property, and cryptocurrencies – where Magistrates in England and Wales have no powers.
Our services
To bring civil recovery investigations to court, the CRT works with the Director of Public Prosecutions – part of the CPS – to utilise:
- Civil Recovery Orders
- Interim Freezing Orders
- Property Freezing Orders
- Unexplained Wealth Orders
The team can consider civil recovery investigations where:
- a defendant has been acquitted of a crime
- a defendant has died
- a defendant has fled the jurisdiction
- the only known criminality is overseas and there is no extra-territorial jurisdiction to pursue a criminal case in the courts of England and Wales
- proceeds of crime can be identified but cannot be linked to any individual suspect or offence
- there is no realistic prospect of conviction and there are assets which have been amassed as a result of the person’s unlawful conduct
Typically, for the CPS to adopt a civil recovery investigation, the value of assets needs to be around £1 million. However, this is negotiable if there is a strong argument it is in the public interest.
Even if your case does not meet the £1m threshold, get in touch with us to discuss your case and work out whether we can help or offer some other potential solutions.
Who can use our services?
- All SWROCU capabilities.
- All South West forces.
- External agencies where civil recovery powers are not available to you under POCA 2002 but you can still meet the requirements set out above.
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