SOCA Loses Bank Claim

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a powerful statutory body whose decisions could imperil private and business banking activity on no more than a reported suspicion of money-laundering. However it should not withhold consent to a bank to allow it to operate a customer’s account under s 335 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 without good reason. It had an obligation to keep matters under review and its refusal of a bank customer’s request to revisit the matter was unlawful.