Steep rise in criminal assets seized by Bedfordshire Police

The force collected proceeds of crime worth £48,200
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The amount of criminal cash and assets seized by police rose sharply in Bedfordshire last year, new figures show.

But anti-corruption organisation Global Witness warned the £200million recovered nationally is "a drop in the ocean" compared with the huge volumes of illegal money flowing through the UK each year.

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Home Office data shows Bedfordshire Police collected proceeds of crime worth £48,200 in the year to March.

The force collected proceeds of crime worth £48,200 in the year to MarchThe force collected proceeds of crime worth £48,200 in the year to March
The force collected proceeds of crime worth £48,200 in the year to March

All of this was obtained through confiscation orders, which are made during sentencing following a criminal conviction.

The haul was more than twice the value seized in 2018-19, when officers recovered £18,600.

Around £208million was collected by police forces, councils and government agencies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act in 2019-20 – a 4 per cent decrease from the year before, but up 8 per cent compared to five years ago.

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Dominic Kavakeb, of Global Witness, said: “These latest statistics really are a drop in the ocean compared with the billions in illicit wealth flooding the UK.

"It shows how much work there is still to do in the fight against dirty money, starting with the long-awaited property register that can bring transparency to the UK’s property market – for years a top choice for criminals and the corrupt looking to launder stolen cash.”

The Government unveiled new measures to clamp down on corruption in 2018, including the creation of Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) – which give authorities the power to demand a person or company explain where their cash or assets came from.

To date, the National Crime Agency has obtained UWOs on four cases with a total asset value estimated at just over £143million.

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In the year to March, £208million was also frozen in more than 800 bank and building society accounts – up significantly from £95million the year before.

The National Economic Crime centre, based at the NCA's headquarters, also launched two years ago with the aim of bringing together police and government bodies to combat economic crime, including money laundering and fraud.

An NCA spokeswoman said: “The National Crime Agency froze or seized £160million in suspected criminal assets during the last year alone, and we continue to use all of our powers, in both the criminal and civil spheres, to disrupt criminals and corrupt elites by recovering the proceeds of their criminality.”