More than £16 million in confiscation orders, £3.2m-worth of assets seized or frozen and £500k in cash captured.
Watches, diamonds, gold, houses, cars, designer clothing…even a pension; these are some of the assets seized by Cleveland Police under the Proceeds of Crime Act. This is in addition to seizing cash and freezing bank accounts.
Cleveland Police’s Economic Crime Unit is hitting criminals where it really hurts by taking back cash and expensive items bought with ill-gotten gains.
The Confiscation Team has seized over £500,000 in cash from criminals in the last two years, along with luxury items such as Rolex watches and gold chains.
One specialist police staff investigator in the team successfully secured a total of £266,000 in confiscated assets since April 2024.
Extra funding
On hearing this, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matt Storey approved funding for an additional civilian investigator role within the team to build on these fantastic results.
Matt visited the Economic Crime Unit to see how investment into its expansion he has provided is delivering results.
He said: “Over the past two years, the dedication and expertise of Cleveland Police’s Economic Crime Unit has led to the seizure of more than half a million pounds from those who seek to profit from crime. This is an outstanding achievement.
“I believe it is vital that we reinvest proceeds of crime back into tackling the very offences they stem from.
“By directing these funds into the Economic Crime Unit, we are creating additional roles focused on investigating fraud and other complex financial crimes. This is an area of policing that continues to grow and demand greater resource.
“This approach sends a powerful message: we are not only taking money out of criminals’ hands, but we are using it to strengthen our response and protect our communities even further.
“The work of this team often goes unseen, carried out quietly and diligently behind the scenes, but it is absolutely essential. They thoroughly deserve recognition for their professionalism, persistence, and the real impact they are making.”
Cryptocurrency
Under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), police have extensive powers to disrupt criminal activity and recover illicit assets gained through crime, which can include seizing cryptocurrency and other digital assets.
The team first seized cryptocurrency assets in 2024, as part of a blackmail investigation involving a teenager. Despite no charges or criminal conviction, the team were able to seize assets of over £9,000 in various cryptocurrencies in a digital wallet linked to activity on messaging app Telegram, as they were believed to be linked to criminality.
Koi carp
As well as bank accounts and cash, the team can also work to seize other items of high value such as cars, designer clothing and bags, and even animals such as valuable dog breeds or Koi carp.
Organised Crime Chief Inspector, Dave Glass said: “The work of the Economic Crime Unit ensures that crime doesn’t pay. We disrupt criminal activity by removing the benefit of crime from criminals at every opportunity.
“We can confiscate all kinds of assets – houses, savings, cars and even pensions. Literally anything that we believe has been paid for with money made from criminal activity, we can seize. It also stays on their record for life, and we can revisit
“We can also use POCA as a tool to compensate victims. Even where the assets are not linked to any crime affecting the victim, we can restrain and confiscate a suspect’s assets to compensate a victim. We have successfully compensated victims of fraud, blackmail and robbery, but any acquisitive crime can be considered under POCA.
“The meticulous enquiries carried out by the team in these complex investigations really brings in some great results in disrupting criminal networks, depriving criminals of any benefit they have made from crime and ensuring that this money goes back to the victims and to the community.”