ANNEX C: Detailed explanatory note for Part 1 of Schedule 1 Paragraph 40: Proceeds of crime
942.Sub-paragraph (1) brings within the scope of civil legal aid services provided to an individual in relation to the confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 listed in that sub-paragraph. These include, for example, proceedings in relation to the discharge or variation of a disclosure order.
943.Sub-paragraph (2) applies the exclusions in Part 2 of Schedule 1, except in relation to business matters. Sub-paragraph (2) also applies the exclusion in Part 3 in relation to advocacy. Under paragraphs 6(b) and 8(d) of Part 3 advocacy may be made available for the purposes of proceedings in the Crown Court and a magistrates’ court in relation to any of the proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 referred to in paragraph 40(1).
944.Sub-paragraph (3) excludes from the scope of civil legal aid services provided for a defendant in relation to directions under section 54(3) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 about distribution of funds in the hands of a receiver or directions under section 67D of that Act about distribution of proceeds of realisation. This is because these directions relate to the application of sums at the end of the confiscation enforcement process and the procedure is primarily intended to enable third parties to have their last opportunity to claim that money or property as theirs.
945.Sub-paragraph (4) provides that where a confiscation order has been made against a defendant under Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and varied under section 29 of that Act (which allows for variation of confiscation orders made at a time when the defendant had absconded), services for the defendant in relation to any subsequent application for compensation under section 73 of that Act are excluded from scope.