Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Forced labour supply chains: WUC v NCA clarifies limits of 'adequate consideration' under POCA; heightened criminal and AML risks for UK retailers and regulated firms

Published on: 15 January 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

BBC World Service cited tests which it claimed showed that 17 products, largely own-brand lines, were likely to include Chinese tomatoes. The supermarkets offering these goods have challenged the BBC’s conclusions. The findings were also showcased in the BBC Panorama episode, ‘What’s on Your Supermarket Shelves? The Dark Side of the Tomato Trade.’

The investigation reported that China produces about a third of the world’s tomatoes—principally from the Xinjiang region—where production is, it alleged, connected to forced labour involving Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. Chinese officials reject assertions of coercion in the tomato industry and contend that workers’ rights are protected by law. This raises complex issues for UK grocers stocking such items, who may find themselves within the scope of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) as a consequence.

Supply chain concerns and the Modern Slavery Act

In January 2021, then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stated in a speech to Parliament that the evidence of the scale and severity of human rights abuses being carried out in Xinjiang against Uyghur Muslims...

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