Territorial Extent and Application Civil recovery Section 64 Detention of Seized Cash
327.Once cash has been seized under section 294 of POCA, it may be detained initially for a period of 48 hours (section 295(1)). A magistrate (or a sheriff in Scotland) may make an order for continued detention of the cash if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for the officer’s suspicion and that the continued detention is justified for the purposes of investigating its origin or intended use. The magistrate may also make an order for continued detention if consideration is being given to bringing criminal proceedings, or if such proceedings have been commenced and not concluded. Section 295(2)(a) of POCA originally provided that the magistrate could order the detention of seized cash for a three month period. Section 64 amends this by providing that the period of detention may be extended for six months. The maximum period during which seized cash may be detained remains at two years from the date of the first order.