Key Facts
- •HMRC seized approximately £400,000 in cash from Kingdom Corporate Ltd's premises.
- •The initial detention order was made 12 minutes after the 48-hour deadline.
- •HMRC re-seized the cash after the initial order was deemed unlawful.
- •A second application for a detention order was granted by District Judge McIvor.
Legal Principles
A magistrates' court cannot retrospectively authorise the continued detention of cash after the 48-hour period has expired.
R v Uxbridge Magistrates' Court ex p Henry (unreported, 7 February 1994), Walsh and Etherington v HM Customs and Excise [2001] EWHC (Admin) 426, HMRC v Mann [2021] EWHC 1182 (Admin)
The power to seize cash under s 294 of POCA is not limited to cases where the cash is in the possession of a person other than the seizing authority.
Chief Constable of Merseyside Police v Hickman [2006] EWHC 451 (Admin)
Unlawful seizure of property cannot be legitimized by a subsequent re-seizure without returning the property to its owner first.
R (Cook) v Serious Organised Crime Agency [2011] 1 WLR 144
Section 295 of POCA only permits cash detention where the seizure was lawful.
R (Merida) Oil Traders Ltd v Central Criminal Court [2017] 1 WLR 3680
Re-seizure of cash under s 294 of POCA may be lawful even after an initial, time-barred detention order, provided it is not an abuse of process.
This case
Outcomes
The claim for judicial review was dismissed.
The court found that the re-seizure of the cash was lawful, as it was not an abuse of process, and a second application for a detention order could be made.