Three safe deposit company directors have been charged in connection with Operation RIZE, following an investigation into alleged money laundering. Operation RIZE used search and seize powers under section 352 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), because they considered the investigation may have been seriously prejudiced if immediate access to the material was not secured.
Operation RIZE has, not surprisingly, caught the eye of the HMRC in the expectation that the police will eventually provide details of all cases where the contents of the boxes may be the proceeds of tax evasion rather than any wider criminality.
Should the contents include documents that reveal assets, investments or properties that should have been reported on their annual Tax returns the same questions over the original source of the monies that funded the assets will be asked and explanations sought for the omission from the returns. In the more serious of cases where HMRC may be considering criminal prosecution it may embark on its own investigation without the knowledge or involvement of the safe deposit box holder.
This makes Operation RIZE classic territory for Appleton Richardson & Co. due to the expertise we posses and services we offer.
