Confiscation step 1: Does the defendant have a criminal lifestyle?


Published by a ½Û×ÓÊÓƵ Corporate Crime expert
Practice notes

Confiscation step 1: Does the defendant have a criminal lifestyle?


Published by a ½Û×ÓÊÓƵ Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes
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Upon receipt of an application from the prosecution for a confiscation order, or on the court's own decision to make such an order, following the conviction of a defendant, the court must consider a number of key questions before a confiscation order can be made. The first question which the court must consider, is whether the defendant has a criminal lifestyle. For more information about confiscation orders and the procedure for obtaining an order see Practice Note: Confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and checklist: Confiscation procedure—flowchart.

Criminal lifestyle

The court must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the defendant has a criminal lifestyle.

What constitutes a criminal lifestyle is determined by section 75 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002). A person only has a criminal lifestyle if the offence of which he is convicted satisfies one or more of these tests:

  1. •

    it is a lifestyle offence specified in POCA 2002, Sch 2

  2. •

    it constitutes conduct forming part of a course of criminal activity

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
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Key definition:
Defendant definition
What does Defendant mean?

A person against whom a claim is brought.

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