R v P
The police had arrested Mr P with a substantial quantity of drugs in his range Rover. Mr P was the director of a property development company which was worth in the region of £8 – 10 million. In the early stages of the investigation the prosecution imposed a restraint order on all of Mr P's assets. Mr P's wife, was also a director in the property development company and we were instructed by her to vary the restraint order to protect her interests and to allow her to continue with the business.
We asked the court to allow Mrs P to liquidate the business so that the value of the assets could be quantified and divided between herself and her husband, the co-director. The prosecution opposed the application on the basis that the money generated by the business during its history was the product of criminal activity. We were able to show by the use of a forensic accountants report and witness statements that this was not the case and the prosecution lost the application.
Our application to vary the Restraint Order at this early stage had a very important impact on the eventual confiscation proceedings that followed. We were able to ring fence assets that had an overall impact on Mr P's confiscation order. when his case was finally concluded.
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