Asset recovery

Criminal Finances and Profits 

Money is at the heart of all organised crime. The lifestyle and status it brings is the main motivation for most criminals. And just as legitimate businesses need funding to stay afloat, so does organised crime. Without cashflow, deals can’t be made and people can’t be paid. For both these reasons, many organised criminals fear attacks on their finances and lifestyle more than prison. 

What does SOCA do? 

SOCA is determined to ensure that criminals can’t enjoy their profits. We also want to reduce the damage they cause by getting in between them and their working capital. The driving principle behind our approach is that criminals must not be allowed to hold onto their assets, profits and lifestyles. We will do everything we can to ensure they don’t have it, can’t use it, and can’t flaunt it. 

The numerous ways in which we can part criminals from their money are listed below. 

How can we measure success? 

In 2009/10 SOCA denied criminals access to assets worth £317.5 million. This includes work that has been done as a result of SOCA referrals to our partners. 

Since April 2008, the assets subject to recovery and consent orders in our cases have included 205 properties or areas of land; 37 vehicles, including cars, a plane, a helicopter, two boats, and a petrol tanker; 190 bank accounts; 17 financial products including pensions, investments and shares; 56 cash payments; and numerous other assets including paintings, licence plates, cattle, and jewellery. 

However figures on their own are of limited use in measuring the impact of asset recovery. 

Putting money into the pot is important but more important for SOCA is making sure that, wherever the money is, criminals can’t get their hands on it. The value of what’s in the pot reflects only part of the impact we can have. 

There are various claims on the assets we recover which have to be deducted before a final figure is arrived at. This can include third party claims, the substantial costs involved in enforcing orders, and compensation payments to victims of crime. None of these is accounted for in the annual recovery figures, but every penny of them comes out of criminals’ pockets and means they have less to spend on themselves and less to invest in their next criminal project.   

Neither does the money in the pot reflect the substantial organisational damage that can be caused by the sudden loss of working capital. Interrupting cashflow stalls business deals, leaves criminals owing each other, creates tensions, and paralyses plans, all of which reduces their capacity to stay in business.  

Some people have attempted to value SOCA’s asset recovery work by dividing our entire budget - for all our intelligence, intervention and enforcement work worldwide - by what’s in the asset recovery pot. This oversimplification has led to the notion that it costs £15 for every £1 recovered. 

But asset recovery is just one strand of SOCA’s work. Setting the actual costs of asset recovery against the value of receipts gives a more accurate calculation of £1 cost for every £1 recovered. 

How can SOCA part criminals from their money? 

SOCA uses the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA) and the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) to make it more difficult for criminals to get their hands on their money and launder the profits of their crimes.  We do this through: 

Civil Recovery (High Court)

• Freezing Orders – assets cannot be moved without agreement by the Court; 
• Civil Recovery Orders - the Respondent must forfeit assets which are believed to be the proceeds of crime. No criminal conviction is needed;
• Tax assessments - a person or company must settle a tax bill on their ‘income or profit’ from criminal activity, for which no tax has been paid.  

Confiscation Orders (Crown Court)

• Restraint Orders – the accused cannot use or move their money without agreement by the Court; 
• Confiscation Orders - the defendant must forfeit the proceeds of their crime up to an amount set by the Court. 

Forfeiture (Magistrates Court)

• Cash Seizure and Forfeiture - SOCA can take cash from people where there is no legitimate reason for them to possess it. 

Asset recovery processes can only be concluded through court so invariably they take time and don’t conform to reporting timetables. Confiscation cases take an average of two years, from the start of a criminal investigation to enforcement of the confiscation order. For larger more complex cases – like SOCA’s - this can be much longer. Civil Recovery and Tax cases can take several years. 

As well as the court processes SOCA has other ways to put pressure on criminals’ finances: 

• Financial Reporting Orders – which order the defendant to provide details of their finances for a period up to 15 years; and
• Serious Crime Prevention Orders – which can restrict an offender’s access to financial products and services. 

For more information on SOCA’s alternative approaches see our How We Work pages. 

Who else is involved? 

Organised criminals have increasingly responded to losing their profit and lifestyle by moving their assets overseas as an attempt at evading SOCA’s reach. 

SOCA works with national and international partners to share intelligence, recover the proceeds of crime, and improve working practices to recover criminals’ assets, wherever they are. 

Referrals to SOCA

Law enforcement agencies or prosecution authorities can refer cases to SOCA for consideration for civil recovery or tax action. It must meet the following criteria: 

• recoverable property has been identified and has an estimated value of at least £10,000;
• recoverable property has been acquired in the last 12 years (20 years for tax);
• recoverable property includes property other than cash, cheques. (although cash can be recovered in addition to other property);
• there is evidence proven to civil standards of criminal conduct;
• for tax cases there must be reasonable suspicion that untaxed income has resulted in criminality. 

Information for law enforcement partners who want to make a referral to SOCA for consideration

 Asset Recovery – find out more now 

If you want to know more about what we do with financial intelligence read about the UK Financial Intelligence Unit here