Police and government agencies have increased powers to confiscate property over the last ten years before charges are brought. Bark & Co regularly acts to limit the scope of freezing orders and challenge confiscations to ensure clients can continue their lives during investigations. The firm is sensitive to the burdens of such restrictions and works to avoid them or minimize financial effects, including by contesting the longevity of restraint orders and employing prominent lawyers to challenge legality. Bark & Co has developed expertise in confiscation and restraint order administration to achieve pragmatic solutions.

2. Confiscation & Asset Recovery
Police and Government agency's ability to confiscate property has increased
dramatically over the last ten years, giving such authorities draconian powers
to freeze and/or confiscate property even before an individual has been
charged or convicted.

3. At Bark & Co, we regularly act for individuals and companies in extinguishing
and limiting the scope of freezing injunctions and challenging confiscations
under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This Act provides for civil recovery of
the proceeds of crime and created the Assets Recovery Agency. It is now
easier for the authorities to convict criminal suspects because it removes the
need to single out the types of crime from where money was made. We at
Bark & Co make aggressive representations on behalf of our clients to ensure
that they are able to get on with their everyday lives whilst investigations are
on-going.

4. As a firm dealing regularly with highly complex, large scale fraud , confiscation
and forfeiture are recurring aspects of our work. The team at Bark & Co are
keenly sensitive to the inconvenience and anxiety that such constraints may
place on individuals and their families and, wherever possible, we work
tenaciously to avoid such restrictions. Where this is not possible under the
law, we will employ the necessary procedures enabling our clients to
minimise the potentially serious financial effects associated with lengthy
proceedings.

5. Additionally, where Restraint Orders are in existence we do everything to
contest their longevity, proactively seeking alternative solutions. In a recent
high profile fraud case we engaged 2 of the most prominent QCs in the UK to
assist in challenging the legality of an extant Restraint Order – with successful
results.
Bark & Co have developed the expertise and skills associated with the
administration of Confiscation and Restraint Orders that seek to achieve swift
and pragmatic solutions to this area of legal process.