Part 8: Financial sanctions Section 151: Serious crime prevention orders
This section amends Schedule 1 to the Serious Crime Act 2007 ("the 2007 Act") to include a breach of financial sanctions legislation in the list of offences in respect of which Serious Crime Prevention Orders ("SCPOs") may be made. These orders are intended to be used against those involved in serious crime, with the terms attached to an order designed to protect the public by preventing, restricting or disrupting involvement in serious crime.
	An SCPO may be made by the Crown Court (in Scotland, the High Court of Justiciary or the sheriff) where it is sentencing a person who has been convicted of a serious offence (including when sentencing a person convicted of such an offence in the magistrates’ court but committed to the Crown Court for sentencing). Orders may also be made by the High Court (in Scotland, the Court of Session or a sheriff) where it is satisfied that a person has been involved in serious crime, whether that involvement was in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland (as the case may be), or elsewhere, and where it has reasonable grounds to believe that the order would protect the public by preventing, restricting or disrupting involvement by the subject of the order in serious crime in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland (as the case may be). A serious offence is one which is listed in Schedule 1 to the 2007 Act, or an offence which is sufficiently serious that the court considers it should be treated as it were part of the list. This section extends this list of trigger offences.
	The 2007 Act allows for SCPOs to be made against individuals (aged 18 or over), bodies corporate, partnerships or unincorporated associations. SCPOs may contain such prohibitions, restrictions, or requirements or such other terms that the court considers appropriate for the purpose of protecting the public by preventing, restricting or disrupting serious crime. Section 5 of the 2007 Act contains an illustrative list of the type of prohibitions, restrictions, or requirements that may be attached to an order. For example, these might relate to a person’s travel, financial dealings or the people with whom he or she is allowed to associate. Orders can last for up to five years. Breach of the order is a criminal offence, subject to a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment or an unlimited fine, or both.
	Sections 6 to 15 of the 2007 Act contain a number of safeguards, including conferring rights on affected third parties to make representations during any proceedings and protection for information subject to legal professional privilege.