Defence guide to responding to a prosecutor’s POCA 2002 section 16 confiscation statement and preparing a section 17 response (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

Confiscation statement under POCA 2002

Typically, the defence will already have lodged a statement of means under section 18 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) before the prosecutor serves a Statement of Information under POCA 2002, s 16 (commonly called a section 16 statement). See: Confiscation timetable—checklist. The defence then has the chance to answer the section 16 statement pursuant to POCA 2002, s 17. That reply is intended to focus and reduce the matters to be determined at the confiscation hearing. If the defence does not make clear whether it contests any assertions advanced by the prosecution in its section 16 statement, the court may treat that silence as acceptance of those particular points. Accordingly, the section 16 statement must be reviewed with care and every area of disagreement should be identified within the defence response. It is also essential to agree a realistic timetable for supplying the defendant's response to the prosecutor's section 16 statement. In many instances, it is possible at an early stage to pinpoint those cases where significant work will be necessary before a response can be filed. For those matters, the need for extra preparation will be evident in advance accordingly...

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Quinton Newcomb

Fieldfisher

Quinton Newcomb has over 15 years of experience in commercial crime, initially at the independent Bar, where he prosecuted and defended, and - for the past 8 years - as a senior lawyer in a specialist commercial crime boutique firm. He offers his clients an extraordinary perspective informed, not least, through his representation of witnesses and suspects, individuals and corporates, in a series of some of the most high-profile SFO investigations of the past decade, including Rolls-Royce, Rio Tinto, Alstom, and ENRC. In addition, Quinton has extensive experience of advising corporate clients upon compliance procedures, and delivering compliance training. Quinton was appointed a criminal Recorder on the South Eastern Circuit in 2020....

Verity Quaite

Fieldfisher

Verity is employed part-time as a Senior Associate in the Commercial Crime team at Fieldfisher and accepts instructions in a self-employed capacity through 18 St John Street Chambers. Verity has experience of prosecuting and defending in the criminal courts. She has been instructed by the CPS, HMRC and the Insolvency Service and has prosecuted companies and directors for offences under the Companies Act 2006. She has significant experience acting in confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, acting for both prosecution and defence and has represented individuals suspected of fraud in interview and in court. In addition to her experience as an advocate, Verity has advised companies in relation to potential defences under the Bribery Act 2010 and has worked in multi-disciplinary teams conducting cross-border corporate investigations for companies under active investigation by the SFO. She spent time in-house on...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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