Asset forfeiture, freezing orders & restraint orders
If your assets have been frozen, your bank accounts seized, or you’ve been served with an Unexplained Wealth Order, it is vital to act quickly and get expert legal advice.
Restraint and forfeiture powers can be exercised by investigating authorities following alerts by financial institutions or if a person is under suspicion for financial crime offences. It often surprises clients that this can be independent from any criminal investigation or prosecution.
Quentin Hunt has significant experience in challenging and defending against all forms of asset restraint and forfeiture, including:
- Restraint Orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA)
- Account Freezing and Forfeiture Orders under the Criminal Finances Act 2017
- Asset Freezing Orders in civil recovery proceedings
- Cash seizure and forfeiture under POCA
- Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) under POCA Part 8
- Civil Recovery proceedings by the National Crime Agency (NCA)
These sorts of applications are often brought ex-parte and without giving the respondent a chance to put their side of the story across. The interruption to cash flow and restraint of assets can cause serious disruption to personal and business finances, reputational harm, and practical difficulties in day-to-day life.
With over 25 years of experience in financial crime, Quentin understand both the legal and tactical landscape of these cases. Crucially, he understands how enforcement agencies build their applications and how to unpick them. He has represented individuals and companies facing forfeiture and freezing orders involving:
- Alleged money laundering and fraudulent conduct
- Suspected links to organised crime
- International property portfolios and luxury assets
- Cases involving offshore trusts, nominee arrangements, and complex corporate structures
In many cases, Quentin can negotiate variations to allow access to living or business expenses, or to challenge the basis of the order entirely. He works closely with a wide range of professions including solicitors, forensic accountants, and financial investigators to provide a full service defence in such cases.
Quentin’s guides to Restraint and Forfeiture
If you face restraint or forfeiture proceedings such as an Account Freezing Order, Restraint Order, or Unexplained Wealth Order, Quentin can provide expert advice and representation, often at short notice, to protect your position.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no stage that is too early or too late to seek legal advice if you consider yourself to be in trouble. In fact, the earlier you get an experienced legal representative on board the more likely you are to avoid mistakes at the beginning of proceedings that can come back to haunt you later if the matter proceeds to litigation.
One of Quentin’s mottos is that ‘the best way to win a trial is not to have a trial at all’ and he is known for the drafting of effective pre-charge representations and the launching of powerful pre-trial legal arguments. His tactical and skilful drafting and presentation of arguments such as disclosure, abuse of process and dismissal applications can often defeat a prosecution case before it even gets to trial.
Quentin is also adept at accepting instructions at a late stage and is often approached to ‘rescue’ cases from ineffective publicly funded representatives.
Quentin is passionate about committing the necessary time and attention to detail to his cases and purposefully does not take on a huge client base. He is therefore does not accept instruction in Legal Aid or publicly funded cases.
If you have been accused of a criminal offence you have the right to seek justice by employing the best barrister to present your case. You can instruct leading criminal barrister Quentin Hunt to handle your criminal case directly – rather than having to go through a third-party solicitor. You can contact Quentin for a free, no obligation conversation about your case, he will talk you through the process personally.