Home Office written question – answered at on 1 December 2025.
Iain Duncan Smith
Conservative, Chingford and Woodford Green
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what legal power the Government seized the property belonging to Rifaat al-Assad in Mayfair, London following his conviction for money laundering and embezzling public funds in France in 2020.
Dan Jarvis
The Minister of State, Home Department, Minister of State (Home Office) (Security), Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) provides law enforcement agencies with a wide range of powers to freeze, seize and recover criminal assets, such as property.
These include restraint orders, property freezing orders, recovery and confiscation orders. Over 250 agencies have had POCA powers extended to them, including the National Crime Agency, police forces, HMRC and the Serious Fraud Office.
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