§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value of criminal funds seized since the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act has been in(a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK. [133220]
§ Caroline FlintInformation is available for the United Kingdom only.
The confiscation powers in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 are triggered by offences committed after the provisions were brought into force on 24 March 2003, so it will be some time before cases are dealt with by the Crown Court in numbers. As of 16 October, nine confiscation orders with a total value of £89,000 had been made against convicted offenders in England and Wales; these orders have yet to be enforced. No confiscation orders under the new legislation have been made in Scotland. The total amount of cash seized by police and customs officers under new powers in the Act 580W which came into effect on 30 December 2002 is £41 million in England, Wales and Scotland. In addition, the Assets Recovery Agency has obtained freezing orders on assets with a total value of over £10 million on 16 cases which are under investigation under the new powers in the Act for civil recovery of criminal assets.