10 January 2017 Banks in the UK are very heavily regulated, and this can sometimes have a severe impact on individual or business customers. In particular, banks are increasingly deciding to close and/or block accounts without giving reasons, and this can sometimes result in long delays before the customer can access their funds. The principal relevant legislation…

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) provides for a notoriously draconian regime for making confiscation orders against defendants who are convicted in criminal proceedings. Some of its harshest features arise from the fact that it often reads as if it had been written by Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland, who said of language…