New amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 came into force on 29 June 2026, introduced through Schedule 21 of the Crime & Policing Act 2026.

These mark one of the most significant overhauls of confiscation proceedings in recent years.

At the centre of the changes is a new statutory principal objective, requiring the court and everyone involved in a case, including prosecutors, investigators and receivers, to focus on depriving defendants of the benefit of their criminal conduct.

The reforms also lower the threshold for the criminal lifestyle test from three qualifying offences to two and introduce a new provision dealing specifically with hidden property.

Where a defendant’s benefit appears to exceed their known assets, the court must now determine the value of any hidden property and add it to the amount available for recovery.

The previous two-year deadline for completing confiscation proceedings has also been scrapped, replaced by a timetable set at sentencing that can be revised as a case develops.

A new system of early resolution meetings has been introduced too, giving prosecutors and defendants the chance to agree confiscation terms without a full contested hearing.

As Roger Isaacs, Forensic Partner at Milsted Langdon, explains, the changes place even greater weight on the quality of financial investigation carried out early in a case.

He adds: “The new hidden property provisions don’t change what forensic accountants have been doing for years, but they do put a new legal framework around it. Courts will now expect a properly evidenced explanation for any gap between a defendant’s known assets and their apparent benefit.

“Removing the two-year time limit is a practical acknowledgement of how long complex tracing exercises can take, particularly where funds have moved through multiple entities or jurisdictions. However, it also means the financial picture needs to hold up under scrutiny for longer, so getting the initial investigation right matters more than ever.

Several further changes are still awaiting commencement, including new rules on enforcement plans and provisional discharges of confiscation orders.

Taken together with the provisions already in force, courts are being given stronger tools to pursue concealed assets and defendants will find it harder to rely on an incomplete or unexplained paper trail.

For cases involving business interests, property or funds held overseas, this reinforces the importance of thorough forensic investigation from the outset.

A well-evidenced financial picture, built before proceedings reach a contested hearing, is likely to carry significant weight under the new framework.

We can trace hidden assets, produce robust valuations and analyse complex financial arrangements both in the UK and overseas, supporting clients and prosecuting authorities through every stage of confiscation proceedings.