Confiscation & Restraint Solicitors

Restraint orders are usually imposed before charge or conviction, freezing assets — bank accounts, property, business interests — to stop them being sold or moved while an investigation or prosecution continues. Breaching a restraint order is itself a serious matter.

Confiscation orders follow a conviction. The court assesses the financial 'benefit' you're found to have obtained from the offending and the 'available amount' you could realistically pay, and can order repayment within a set deadline — usually 3 to 6 months.

Missing that deadline carries real consequences: interest accrues on the unpaid amount, and non-payment can lead to a default prison sentence of up to 14 years, calculated on a sliding scale by the size of the order, on top of enforcement action against remaining assets, including jointly-owned property.

Because confiscation figures can be calculated in ways that include assets not directly connected to the offence itself, challenging how the 'benefit' and 'available amount' were calculated is often where a confiscation case is genuinely won or lost.

This is a specialist area of practice — Afzal Anwar's own verified specialisms include Proceeds of Crime Act and confiscation work. We advise on both restraint applications and confiscation hearings, working to protect legitimate assets throughout.

• Advice on responding to a restraint order
• Applications to release funds for living or legal expenses during restraint
• Representation at the confiscation hearing following a conviction
• Advice on what counts as 'benefit' and 'available amount' under the Act
• Advice on payment deadlines and the consequences of non-payment