Rule 33.26 Application for approval to seize property or to searchI1

England and Wales

(1)

This rule applies where an officer wants the approval of a magistrates’ court under section 47G of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002^f1—

(a)

under section 47C of that Act^f2, to seize—

(i)

realisable property which is not cash or exempt property, or

(ii)

any free property which is a cryptoasset-related item; or

(b)

to search premises or a person or vehicle for property to be seized, under section 47D, 47E or 47F of that Act^f3.

(2)

Such an officer must—

(a)

apply in writing; and

(b)

serve the application on the court officer.

(3)

The application must—

(a)

explain—

(i)

the applicant’s entitlement to apply, and

(ii)

how the proposed seizure meets the conditions prescribed by sections 47B, 47C and, if applicable, 47D, 47E or 47F of the 2002 Act^f4;

(b)

if applicable, specify any premises, person or vehicle to be searched;

(c)

attach any material on which the applicant relies; and

(d)

propose the terms in which the applicant wants the court to give its approval.

(4)

The court—

(a)

must determine the application—

(i)

at a hearing, which must be in private unless the court otherwise directs, and

(ii)

in the applicant’s presence; but

(b)

may consider an application made orally instead of in writing.

[Note. Under section 47C of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, if any of the conditions listed in section 47B of the Act are met then one of the officers listed in section 47A^f5 may seize—

(a)

realisable property other than cash or exempt property as defined in section 47C, if the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that—

(i)

the property may otherwise be made unavailable for satisfying any confiscation order that has been or may be made against a defendant; or

(ii)

the value of the property may otherwise be diminished as a result of conduct by the defendant or any other person; and

(b)

any free property if the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is a cryptoasset-related item as defined in section 47C.

In the 2002 Act, for the purposes of the provisions to which this rule refers—

(a)

section 82^f6 defines “free property”;

(b)

section 83 defines “realisable property”;

(c)

section 84 makes general provisions about property; and

(d)

section 84A defines “cryptoasset” and related expressions.

Under sections 47D, 47E and 47F of the 2002 Act, such an officer may search premises, a person or a vehicle, respectively, for such property, on the conditions listed in those sections.

By sections 47C(6), 47D(2), 47E(4), 47F(6) and 47G of the 2002 Act, such an officer may seize property, and may search for it, only with the approval of a magistrates’ court or, if that is impracticable, the approval of a senior officer (as defined by section 47G), unless in the circumstances it is not practicable to obtain the approval of either.]

Annotations

Commencement

I1: Rule 33.26 in force at 6.10.2025, see Preamble

Footnotes

f1: 2002 c. 29; section 47G was inserted by section 55 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26) and amended by section 55 of, and paragraphs 14 and 17 of Schedule 21 to, the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22) and section 13 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 (c. 9).
f2: 2002 c. 29; section 47C was inserted by section 55 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26) and amended by section 61 of, and paragraph 16 of Schedule 21 to, the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22) and section 219 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 8 to, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56).
f3: 2002 c. 29; sections 47D, 47E and 47F were inserted by section 55 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26).
f4: 2002 c. 29; section 47B was inserted by section 55 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26) and amended by section 13 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 (c. 9) and section 219 of, and paragraph 2 of Schedule 8 to, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56).
f5: 2002 c. 29; section 47A was inserted by section 55 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26) and amended by section 55 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), section 58 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to, the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (c. 22) and S.I. 2018/285.
f6: 2002 c. 29; section 82 was amended by section 178 of, and paragraph 5 of Schedule 6 to, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c. 15), section 100 of, and paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (c. 28), section 116 of, and paragraph 101 of Schedule 7 to, Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26), sections 34 and 58 of, and paragraph 22 of Schedule 5 to, the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (c. 22), section 416 of, and paragraph 196 of Schedule 24 to, the Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17) and section 219 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 9 to, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56).