Tax evasion and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Abstract

Pursuit of the proceeds of crime has always been central to the criminal justice agenda of Tony Blair‧s Labour Party. In response to Blair‧s moral imperatives and to wider global forces, legislation has been put in place that targets, in various ways, the proceeds of crime. These efforts reached at least a temporary culmination in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The mechanisms directed against property are backed by widespread reporting obligations, set out in the Money Laundering Regulations 2003, implementing the Amending EU Directive. The increased rate of seizures and growing rate of confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and a number of decided cases under the Act are evidence of the courts ‘doing their bit’. A large industry is now in place for the delivery of the legal and other services the need for which was generated by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.