The City of London Police issued account freezing orders and account forfeiture orders against assets worth £36m ($51m, €42m) in 2020, according to research by international law firm RPC.
This is compared to around £1m in 2019, which is a 3,500% increase year-on-year.
RPC said that the increase in the freezing and seizing of criminals’ assets by the City of London Police is “part of a broader effort by UK government agencies to deprive fraudsters of more of their ill-gotten gains” and “prioritise higher-value fraud cases”.
These types of orders allow authorities to directly seize money that is suspected of having been obtained by unlawful conduct and freeze bank accounts for up to two years under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Prior to these powers coming into effect in January 2018, the police and other regulatory bodies had few options available to seize money directly without first having to charge the person concerned.
RPC also said that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is making significant use of both orders to prevent suspected fraudsters from accessing funds. HMRC froze and seized £29m in the first 10 months 2020/21, up from £27.5m in the previous full year.
‘Greater use’
Adam Craggs, partner and head of tax disputes, regulatory and financial crime at RPC, said: “Government agencies have previously been criticised for not doing enough to prevent fraudsters from transferring their money out of the UK to less regulated jurisdictions.
“Greater use of account freezing and forfeiture orders by the various authorities is making it more difficult for criminals to transfer their money from the UK to other jurisdictions and depriving them of their ill-gotten gains.”
Michelle Sloane, partner at RPC, added: “As more suspected cases are investigated, we will undoubtedly see regulators make greater use of these orders in the future to ensure that those who have fraudulently claimed money from the government are not able to benefit from their criminal activity.”
