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Section 308: General exceptions

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 · 2002 c. 29View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 5: Civil recovery of the proceeds etc. of unlawful conduct — Chapter 4: General

If—

a person disposes of recoverable property, and
the person who obtains it on the disposal does so in good faith, for value and without notice that it was recoverable property,

the property may not be followed into that person's hands and, accordingly, it ceases to be recoverable.

If recoverable property is vested, forfeited or otherwise disposed of in pursuance of powers conferred by virtue of this Part, it ceases to be recoverable.

If—

a payment is made to a person in pursuance of a compensation order under Article 14 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/2795 (N.I. 15)), section 249 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (c. 46) or Chapter 2 of Part 7 of the Sentencing Code or in pursuance of a service compensation order under the Armed Forces Act 2006, and
apart from this subsection, the sum received would be recoverable property,

the property ceases to be recoverable.

If—

a payment is made to a person in pursuance of a slavery and trafficking reparation order under section 8 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and
apart from this subsection, the sum received would be recoverable property,

the property ceases to be recoverable.

If—

a payment is made to a person in pursuance of a slavery and trafficking reparation order under Schedule 2 to the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, and
apart from this subsection, the sum received would be recoverable property,

the property ceases to be recoverable.

If—

a payment is made to a person in pursuance of a restitution order under section 27 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 (c. 16 (N.I.)) or Chapter 3 of Part 7 of the Sentencing Code or a person otherwise obtains any property in pursuance of such an order, and
apart from this subsection, the sum received, or the property obtained, would be recoverable property,

the property ceases to be recoverable.

If—

in pursuance of an order made by the court under section 382(3) or 383(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8) (restitution orders), an amount is paid to or distributed among any persons in accordance with the court's directions, and
apart from this subsection, the sum received by them would be recoverable property,

the property ceases to be recoverable.

If—

in pursuance of a requirement of the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Bank of England under or by virtue of section 384(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (power ... to require restitution), an amount is paid to or distributed among any persons, and
apart from this subsection, the sum received by them would be recoverable property,

the property ceases to be recoverable.

If—

a payment is made to a person in pursuance of an unlawful profit order under section 4 of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013, and
apart from this subsection, the sum received would be recoverable property,

the property ceases to be recoverable.

Property is not recoverable while a restraint order applies to it, that is—

an order under section 41, 120 or 190, or
an order under any corresponding provision of an enactment mentioned in section 8(7)(a) to (g).

Property is not recoverable while it is detained under or by virtue of section 44A, 47J, 47K, 47M, 47P, 122A, 127J, 127K, 127M, 127P, 193A, 195J, 195K, 195M or 195P.

Property is not recoverable if it has been taken into account in deciding the amount of a person's benefit from criminal conduct for the purpose of making a confiscation order, that is—

an order under section 6, 92 or 156, or
an order under a corresponding provision of an enactment mentioned in section 8(7)(a) to (g),

and, in relation to an order mentioned in paragraph (b), the reference to the amount of a person's benefit from criminal conduct is to be read as a reference to the corresponding amount under the enactment in question.

Where—

a person enters into a transaction to which section 305(2) applies, and
the disposal is one to which subsection (1) or (2) applies,

this section does not affect the recoverability (by virtue of section 305(2)) of any property obtained on the transaction in place of the property disposed of.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.