Commentary on Sections Enforcement abroad Section 74: Enforcement abroad
132.Section 74 sets out the conditions under which requests for assistance in the freezing and realisation of property may be made by authorities in England and Wales to other jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom. Although requests of this nature have been made for many years, the earlier legislation is largely silent as to the respective roles and powers of the various authorities involved. The Act places outgoing requests on a fully statutory footing. Section 74 applies only to requests relating to Part 2 of the Act.
133.All outgoing requests must be made either by the prosecutor or by the Director, and may only be made with the authority of the Secretary of State. In practice, this means that all outgoing requests must pass through the United Kingdom Central Authority for mutual assistance in criminal matters in the Home Office. Requests may be made for a prohibition on dealing with property or additionally, where a confiscation order has been made, the realisation of property. It will be noted that under subsection (1)(a), a request may be made where any of the conditions in section 40 is satisfied. This will enable the prosecutor or the Director to request an asset freeze abroad before any restraint order has yet been made in England and Wales, as long as the conditions for making a restraint order are satisfied at the time.