Cash seizures: Detention, Forfeiture and How to Recover It

The police and other officers may seize cash which they suspect to be the proceeds of crime, or intended for use in crime, and may then seek its forfeiture in the magistrates' court without any charge or conviction. We explain the powers of seizure, detention and forfeiture, and how forfeiture may be resisted.

In brief

• Cash of £1,000 or more may be seized where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is recoverable property or intended for use in unlawful conduct, without any charge or conviction.

• Continued detention beyond 48 hours requires a court order, and the overall limit is two years.

• Forfeiture may be sought by notice or by application to the court; an objection to a notice must be made in time.

• An appeal against a forfeiture order lies to the Crown Court within 30 days.

A civil procedure

Chapter 3 of Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 ("POCA") provides a summary civil procedure for the seizure and forfeiture of cash. As with the rest of Part 5, it operates against the money itself and requires no conviction. The proceedings take place in the magistrates' court and are decided on the balance of probabilities.

Seizure

Under section 294, an officer of HM Revenue and Customs, a constable, an SFO officer or an accredited financial investigator may seize cash if he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is recoverable property or is intended by any person for use in unlawful conduct. "Cash" is widely defined: it includes notes and coins in any currency, cheques, bankers' drafts and bearer instruments, as well as gaming vouchers, casino tokens and betting receipts (section 289(6) and (7)). The related search powers are in section 289(1) to (5). Cash may not be seized if the amount is below the "minimum amount", which is fixed by order under section 303 and currently stands at £1,000.

Detention

By section 295, seized cash may be detained for an initial period of 48 hours (disregarding Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays). Any longer detention requires an order of a magistrates' court, which may authorise detention for up to six months at a time, subject to an overall limit of two years from the date of the first order. The court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the cash is recoverable property or intended for unlawful use, and that continued detention is justified whilst the matter is investigated or proceedings are considered or pursued.

Forfeiture by order of the court

Under section 298, whilst cash is detained, a magistrates' court may order its forfeiture if satisfied that it is recoverable property or is intended by any person for use in unlawful conduct. The enforcement authority need not prove a specific criminal offence, but it must identify the kind or kinds of unlawful conduct on which it relies. In Angus v United Kingdom Border Agency [2011] EWHC 461 (Admin), the court held that, in a cash forfeiture case, the officer must show that the cash was obtained through conduct of one of a number of kinds, each of which would have been unlawful, and that it is not enough to point to criminal conduct of an unspecified kind. Since the civil standard applies, the court may draw inferences from the surrounding circumstances. In Muneka v Customs and Excise Commissioners [2005] EWHC 495 (Admin), the court confirmed that, where an account of the source of the money is rejected as untruthful, that may itself support the conclusion that the cash was criminal (although Angus should be borne in mind on the need to identify a kind of unlawful conduct).

Forfeiture by notice

Detained cash may also be forfeited without any court hearing, by a cash forfeiture notice given under section 297A. A person who wishes to resist forfeiture must give notice of objection within the period specified in the notice. If no objection is made, the cash is forfeited, subject only to a limited right to apply to the magistrates' court to set the forfeiture aside.

Appeal, release and compensation

A party aggrieved by a decision on forfeiture may appeal to the Crown Court within 30 days of the order or decision (section 299). Detained cash may be released where the grounds for its detention no longer exist (section 297). Where no forfeiture order is made, the person from whom the cash was taken may apply for compensation, but, beyond interest, compensation for loss is available only where the circumstances are exceptional (section 302).

On costs, the position favours enforcement authorities who act reasonably. In R (Perinpanathan) v City of Westminster Magistrates' Court [2010] EWCA Civ 40, the Court of Appeal held, applying the principle in Bradford City Metropolitan District Council v Booth (2000) 164 JP 485, that the starting point is that no order for costs is made against a public authority which has acted reasonably in the public interest, even if it loses.

How DWK Law can help

DWK Law act for those whose cash has been seized, at the detention stage, at contested forfeiture hearings and on appeal to the Crown Court.

Speak to a member of our team in confidence on 020 3179 2924, or by email to info@dwklaw.co.uk.

DWK Law. This guide is for general information only and is not legal advice. The law is stated as at the 6th November 2026 and may have changed since. Advice should be taken on the facts of any particular case.