Attorney Generals Office
Details
The Attorney Generals existing Code of Practice needs to be updated due to amendment to Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) made by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 and the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
POCA provides that when a code of practice is revised, the relevant authorities must prepare and publish a draft, they must consider any representations made and modify the codes as appropriate, and they must lay the codes before Parliament for approval.
The revised draft of the Attorney Generals Code of Practice has been subject to two consultations. The first consultation, following amendments to POCA by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, ran from 29 June 2022 to 21 September 2022.
The second consultation, following proposed amendments to POCA brought forward by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, ran from 28 March 2023 to 20 June 2023.
A revised draft of the Attorney Generals Code of Practice was laid before Parliament on 22 January 2024 and will be debated in due course. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the revised Code of Practice will come into force on 26 April 2024.