Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

P v P [2003] All ER (D) 141 (October); [2003] EWHC 2260 (Fam)

Solicitors are under a duty to report any suspicion of wrongdoing, whether of drug dealing or tax evasion, and no matter how small the amount involved, to comply with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Sections 333(3) and 342(4) appear to permit a legal adviser to inform the other side that a disclosure either will be, or has been, made to the National Criminal Intelligence Service even where the result would be to tip off their client, where to do so would fall within the ambit of being in connection with the giving of legal advice or with legal proceedings actual or contemplated. The exemption is lost if the disclosure to a client is made ‘with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose’. However, unless the requisite improper intention is there, the solicitor should be free to communicate such information to his client or opponent as is necessary and appropriate in connection with the giving of legal advice or acting in connection with actual or contemplated proceedings. As a matter of good practice the investigation authorities should be permitted time to do their job without frustration. In most cases a delay of, at most, seven working days before informing a client would not generally cause particular difficulty to the solicitor’s obligations to his client or his opponent. The New Law Journal of 17 October quotes David Burrows, chairman of the Solicitor’s Family Law Association, as saying: ‘We may lose some of the trust which is essential to the solicitor/client relationship. Divorcing couples with something to hide will not be able to avoid committing an offence … simply by avoiding legal advice – they may well also be committing an offence if they arrive at their own agreements outside the courts. However, their agreements will not be enforceable, and this may cause greater problems in the long run.’