Nick Barnard quoted as the Serious Fraud Office faces the first-ever legal challenge to an account forfeiture order

Partner Nick Barnard is quoted in Law360 UK as the Serious Fraud Office (UK) faces the first-ever legal challenge to an account forfeiture order.

Former Petrobras executive Mario Ildeu de Miranda is seeking to overturn an order imposed to seize $7.7 million, which the SFO said was linked to a Brazilian corruption scandal involving the state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras. Miranda was convicted in Brazil of money laundering.

According to Nick, cases like this show that the SFO is “more than willing” to deploy its asset forfeiture powers in the right circumstance. Disrupting money laundering is a priority in the UK, Nick says, as orders targeting assets can be a goal in and of itself, either alongside or in lieu of prosecutions.

You can read Nick’s comments in Law 360.