No freeze on property overseas: Perry & Ors v Serious Organised Crime Agency

In Perry and others v Serious Organised Crime Agency [2] and Perry and others No.2 v Serious Organised Crime Agency, write Charles Thomson and Ben Ko of Baker & McKenzie, the Supreme Court allowed the joint appeals brought by Mr Perry, some members of his family, and entities associated with them. The Supreme Court ruled that the High Court does not have the jurisdiction to make civil recovery orders in respect of property located outside of England and Wales. Similarly, notices under disclosure orders requesting information from Mr Perry and his daughters could not be served under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) to individuals outside of the UK. This clarification of the extraterritorial effect of POCA has caused some controversy and has raised questions as to the purpose and efficacy of the civil recovery regime.

Charles Thomson (+44 (0) 20 7919 1879, charles. thomson@bakermckenzie.com) and Ben Ko (+44 (0) 20 7919 1733, ben.ko@bakermckenzie.com) are associates in Baker & McKenzie’s Business Crime Unit in London.

Facts

In 2007, Mr Perry was convicted by the Tel Aviv-Jaffar District Court for various offences in relation to a pension scheme he had operated in Israel. He was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and handed a fine of approximately UK£3 million.