Penelope Small regularly appears in both the High Court and Crown Courts across the country where she represents the interests of the Prosecution, Defendants and Third Parties in proceedings relating to the restraint or realisation of assets both before and after criminal convictions and during civil restraint and recovery proceedings.

Her practice also covers advising individuals, companies and solicitors’ firms who find themselves caught up in civil or criminal investigations and includes parties who have been served with statutory or court ordered requests for disclosure of information and or those who have become named in freezing and restraint orders.

Her cases frequently involve confiscation issues arising from criminal proceedings and complicated receivership issues. She has successfully defended clients facing multi-million confiscation orders. She represented the appellant in the case of R v O’Donoghue the leading case on applications for Certificates of Inadequacy where a hidden asset finding has been made at the original confiscation hearing. Penelope represented the Prosecution in the first successful application in the North East under the provisions of section 15 of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994. She has also dealt with applications to stay the enforcement of outstanding confiscation orders on the grounds of delay or inactivity.

A former counsel to HM Customs and Excise, Miss Small has also been instructed by both the DTI and the Serious Fraud Office. She has regularly represented wives and/or partners who seek to preserve from the court assets from former marriages/ relationships from the statutory forfeiture regimes currently operating in this jurisdiction. She regularly lectures on proceeds of crime issues.

Notable Cases

• R v O [2008]Successfully resisted an application to stay the appointment of an enforcement receiver over a former matrimonial home on the basis that the only part of the original confiscation order outstanding related to accrued interest and that there had been delay/inactivity in securing its payment on behalf of the prosecution.
• SFO V W [2008]Represented the SFO in enforcement proceedings against a sophisticated mortgage fraudster in conjoined ancillary relief proceedings brought by his wife.
• R v O’Donoghue [2004] EWCA Civ 1800Appeared for the appellant in the leading case in respect of applications for Certificates of Inadequacy where a hidden asset finding has been made at the confiscation hearing.
• R v Bell (Bolton CC) and R v McLeish (Bolton CC)Representing defendants facing multi-million pound confiscation orders.
• Re: J (2007)Successful representation of a third party seeking to establish an interest in the equity of the house where she lived at enforcement proceedings in the High Court. The Judge at the confiscation hearing had ruled that she had no interest in the property; the High Court Judge made a finding that her interest represented 50% of the net equity of the property.
• R v Rouse (2003)Represented the prosecution in the first successful application in the North East under the provisions of section 15 of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994.