Office of Public Sector Information

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (External Requests and Orders) Order 2005 (‘the 2005 Order’) in line with the amendments made to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (‘the 2002 Act’) by section 74(2) of and Schedule 8 to the Serious Crime Act 2007 (‘the 2007 Act’). The 2005 Order makes provision for dealing, in different parts of the United Kingdom, with external requests (a request by an overseas authority to prohibit dealing with specified property) and external orders (an order made by an overseas court for the recovery of specified property or money where property is found or believed to have been obtained as a result of or in connection with criminal conduct.)

The amendments made to the 2002 Act by the 2007 Act abolish the confiscation functions of the Assets Recovery Agency (‘ARA’) and its Director, and transfer the civil recovery functions of the ARA and its Director to the enforcement authority (which has the meaning given to it by article 213 of the 2005 Order as amended by article 2(42)(b) and (c) of this Order). This Order amends the 2005 Order accordingly and makes other minor and consequential amendments corresponding to those made to the 2002 Act by the 2007 Act. These include amendments to the Limitation Act 1980 and the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 to amend the references to the Director to the ‘relevant person’ (as defined in articles 4(3) and 5(3)) in the provisions extending the limitation period for proceedings under Part 5 of the 2005 Order for a recovery order to give effect to an external order.

This Order also inserts new articles 150A to 150C into the 2005 Order, relating to civil recovery management receivers, which correspond to sections 245E to 245G of the 2002 Act, inserted by section 83 of the 2007 Act.