The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Bowman v Fels [2005] has clarified the position of legal professionals in relation to the application of section 328 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), when dealing with ongoing litigious matters.
In the case of P v P [2004], Dame Butler-Sloss held that under section 328, where a lawyer suspects that he or his client will become involved in an ‘arrangement’, an authorised disclosure should be made and consent from the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) sought to proceed with the transaction under section 335 POCA. She commented further that: “There are a range of ways in which a legal professional might become ‘concerned’ in an arrangement.”
