Extending Further the Powers of Confiscation in Britain: The Proceeds of Crime Act 1995

1. Introduction In Britain the question of confiscation of the proceeds of crime has not been dealt within a single instrument; on the contrary, it has been elaborated in three different pieces of legislation, whose scope has been divided according to the topology of the criminal activity involved. Thus, the confiscation of proceeds of drug trafficking has been regulated in the Drug Trafficking Offenses Act 1986 (hereinafter "DTOA"), as amended, inter alia, by the Criminal Justice Act 1993 and consolidated in Part I (sections 1-41) of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994. Confiscation of proceeds from terrorist activities is regulated in section 13 of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, whose validity has since been extended on a yearly basis ... [more]