Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 10

Assumptions to be made in case of criminal lifestyle

Part 2 Confiscation: England and Wales

(1)If the court decides under section 6 that the defendant has a criminal lifestyle it must make the following four assumptions for the purpose of—

(a)deciding whether he has benefited from his general criminal conduct, and

(b)deciding his benefit from the conduct.

(2)The first assumption is that any property transferred to the defendant at any time after the relevant day was obtained by him—

(a)as a result of his general criminal conduct, and

(b)at the earliest time he appears to have held it.

(3)The second assumption is that any property held by the defendant at any time after the date of conviction was obtained by him—

(a)as a result of his general criminal conduct, and

(b)at the earliest time he appears to have held it.

(4)The third assumption is that any expenditure incurred by the defendant at any time after the relevant day was met from property obtained by him as a result of his general criminal conduct.

(5)The fourth assumption is that, for the purpose of valuing any property obtained (or assumed to have been obtained) by the defendant, he obtained it free of any other interests in it.

(6)But the court must not make a required assumption in relation to particular property or expenditure if—

(a)the assumption is shown to be incorrect, or

(b)there would be a serious risk of injustice if the assumption were made.

(7)If the court does not make one or more of the required assumptions it must state its reasons.

(8)The relevant day is the first day of the period of six years ending with—

(a)the day when proceedings for the offence concerned were started against the defendant, or

(b)if there are two or more offences and proceedings for them were started on different days, the earliest of those days.

(9)But if a confiscation order mentioned in section 8(3)(c) has been made against the defendant at any time during the period mentioned in subsection (8)—

(a)the relevant day is the day when the defendant’s benefit was calculated for the purposes of the last such confiscation order;

(b)the second assumption does not apply to any property which was held by him on or before the relevant day.

(10)The date of conviction is—

(a)the date on which the defendant was convicted of the offence concerned, or

(b)if there are two or more offences and the convictions were on different dates, the date of the latest.

Definitions used in section 10 1

the court

(10) In this section, sections 120 to 140 and Schedule 3 “the court” means—

(a)the Court of Session, where a trial diet or a diet fixed for the purposes of section 76 of the Procedure Act in proceedings for the offence or offences concerned is to be, is being or has been held in the High Court of Justiciary;

(b)the sheriff exercising his civil jurisdiction, where a diet referred to in paragraph (a) is to be, is being or has been held in the sheriff court.

Defined in s.119(10) · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 10 76

R v Christopher Michaelides

[2025] EWCA Crim 1276 · 18 September 2025Defines

The court accepted that the case was subject to the criminal lifestyle assumptions and treated that statutory regime as distinct from benefit arising from particular criminal conduct. (see paras [7]; [14]) The court recorded 2 July 2014 as the relevant day for the six-year period considered in the confiscation assessment. The provision supplied the temporal starting point for the alleged transfers and benefit calculation. (see para [6])

REGINA v JOHN BRUCE

[2021] EWCA Crim 1896 · 2 November 2021

The court applied the statutory assumptions because the appellant had an agreed criminal lifestyle. Those assumptions informed the benefit calculation and the issue of unrebutted property funding. (see paras [6]; [25]; [27]-[28])

Zuman & Anor v R

[2021] EWCA Crim 399 · 19 March 2021

The court held that rent received after the relevant day could in principle engage the assumption concerning property transferred to a defendant. Whether that assumption should be made required factual assessment on remittal (see paras [62]; [86]; [87]). The court held that property held after the relevant day could in principle engage the relevant assumption. It declined to make the assumption itself because the necessary factual assessment had not been undertaken below (see paras [62]; [86]-[89]). The court confirmed that assumptions must not be made if shown to be incorrect or if they would create a serious risk of injustice. Whether either condition applied was for a fact-finding court on the available information (see paras [62]; [63]; [87]-[89]). The court identified 1 November 2007 as the relevant day for the statutory assumptions in this case (see para [80]).

56 more judgments, and what each says about section 10, are in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Explanatory note

28.Section 10 applies where the court has decided that the defendant has a criminal lifestyle and it is, accordingly, considering the defendant’s benefit from general criminal conduct. The section requires the court to make certain specified assumptions to establish whether the defendant has benefited from general criminal conduct, and, if so, by how much. The court is not, however, permitted to make an assumption in relation to particular property or expenditure if it is shown to be incorrect or there would be a serious risk of injustice if it were made. Where for any reason the court does not make any of the assumptions specified in the legislation, it must nevertheless continue to decide whether the defendant has benefited from general criminal conduct and decide the recoverable amount, albeit without the assistance of the assumptions.

29.The earlier confiscation legislation provides for similar assumptions to be made. They are mandatory in confiscation proceedings following a conviction for a drug trafficking offence, but discretionary in all other confiscation cases (and, in the latter case, other criteria must be satisfied before they can be made). Section 11 creates a single scheme under which the assumptions are mandatory in all cases where a person has a criminal lifestyle (defined in section 75).

All the explanatory notes for the Act

Amendments and notes

1 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Commencement

  1. I5S. 10 in force at 24.3.2003 by S.I. 2003/333, art. 2, Sch.