ARA freezes £11.8 million of property in Manchester
The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) has frozen an additional £11.8 million worth of property in the Manchester area, following an application to the High Court as part of an ongoing investigation into large scale mortgage fraud and money laundering. In the High Court, ARA alleged that Paul Dermot Craven and Brian Pepper established the property portfolio through the proceeds of unlawful conduct; including money laundering, tax evasion, false accounting, mortgage fraud and benefit fraud.
(Media-Newswire.com) - The Assets Recovery Agency ( ARA ) has frozen an additional £11.8 million worth of property in the Manchester area, following an application to the High Court as part of an ongoing investigation into large scale mortgage fraud and money laundering.
The Agency alleges that 77 properties dotted around the Manchester area have been funded by the proceeds of financial crime and used to launder money. The property portfolio, with an equity value of around £4.7 million, consists largely of tenanted flats and houses owned and operated by property companies in Manchester.
In the High Court, ARA alleged that Paul Dermot Craven and Brian Pepper established the property portfolio through the proceeds of unlawful conduct; including money laundering, tax evasion, false accounting, mortgage fraud and benefit fraud.
Following a High Court application, the Agency has served Property Freezing Orders ( PFOs ) on the following companies and directors: * Dermot Craven Developments Ltd, Craven House, Britannia Road, Sale, Manchester and company directors Brian Pepper of Bridgewater Street, Sale, Manchester and Dawn Craven; * Avenue Holdings Ltd, Craven House, Britannia Road, Sale, Manchester, and company directors Paul Dermot Craven of South Downs Road, Hale, Altrincham, Cheshire, Brian Pepper and Gerald Joseph Nightingale; * DC&BP ( 2004 ) Ltd, Craven House, Britannia Road, Sale, Manchester, and company directors Dermot Craven and Brian Pepper.
The Agency has not alleged any criminal conduct by Dawn Craven or Gerald Joseph Nightingale but has frozen property held by them, or by companies of which they are directors, because it alleges that the property is the proceeds of crime.
These orders are the latest phase of an ongoing ARA investigation which last November and December saw 15 Manchester properties worth around £1.2million made the subject of Property Freezing Orders ( PFO ) granted by the High Court.
In October 2005 the Agency conducted searches throughout the Manchester area and seized more than 350,000 records. Since then the Agency investigations which has included: * A major forensic accountancy investigation into the affairs of a large number of individuals and companies over a nine year period; * The service of production orders on companies and individuals requiring them to submit documentary evidence to the Agency; * Interviews conducted under Disclosure Orders granted by the High Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. * Further searches at premises in the Manchester area and seizure of records and evidence.
Based on the findings of these enquiries the Agency is now in a position to apply for PFOs in relation to various properties. Due to the complexity and scale of the Manchester operation the freezing of properties in this case is being handled in stages.
Jane Earl, Director of the Assets recovery Agency, said: "This is the latest stage in one of the largest and most complex investigations the Agency has undertaken. In our case to the High Court we have alleged a number of companies and individuals have been involved in laundering money and a series of mortgage frauds. In these investigations to date we have frozen a total of 92 properties valued at £13million, and the investigation is still ongoing.
"This is a further demonstration of the power of the Proceeds of Crime Act and the way in which it is being used to attack crime at all levels across the UK. The Government has recently announced proposals to merge ARA with the Serious Organised Crime Agency. For ARA it is still a matter of business as usual and we will continue to pursue all current cases as well as develop new cases. With our partners in the asset recovery community we will continue to make the climate as hostile as possible for those who seek to profit from crime and cause harm to communities."
Notes for Editors:
1. ARA has not released the exact addresses of the properties as they are occupied by tenants. ARA is not alleging that the tenants are involved in any unlawful activity. The tenants in property covered by the PFO will continue to live in their homes under the same arrangements as set out in their tenancy agreement.
3. Property Freezing Orders were introduced in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 ( "SOCPA" ) which came into force on the 1st January 2006.
A Property Freezing Order ( "PFO" ) is an Order granted by the High Court which prohibits named persons or entities from dealing in any way with any property which has been specified or described in the Order. It relates only to property specified in the Order. Any other property owned or held by the named persons or entities and NOT specified in the Order can be dealt with by them in the normal way.
The PFO can be applied for without notice to the other side if there is a risk that in notifying them the property in question will be dissipated and so prejudice ARA in it ultimately getting a civil recovery order against that property. At this stage only ARA's initial arguments have been heard by the High Court.
4. The Assets Recovery Agency was created under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and provided completely new powers to allow ARA to seek civil recovery of the proceeds of unlawful activity by an action in the High Court. The Agency can also issue tax assessments where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that there is taxable income, gain or profit from criminal conduct.
5. On 11 January 2007, the Home Office laid a Written Ministerial Statement before Parliament setting out Government proposals to merge the Assets Recovery Agency ( ARA ) with the Serious Organised Crime Agency ( SOCA ), and to extend to prosecutors the power to launch civil recovery action under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Written Ministerial Statement can be viewed at http://www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk/AboutARA/.
Any proposed merger will require primary legislation. In the meantime ARA will continue to operate as before and use its powers to the full in proceeding with all cases under active litigation as well as adopting new cases from referring agencies in the criminal enforcement community.
6. The Agency is playing its part in the multi-agency approach to deliver the Government's Asset Recovery Strategy. Under the cross government initiative 'Payback', the tracing of and recovery of assets is seen as an important element in the delivery of justice, and sends out a strong deterrent message. The overall aims of the strategy are to make greater use of the investigations of criminal assets in the fight against crime; recover money that has been made from crime or which is intended for use in crime; prevent criminals and their associates from laundering the proceeds of criminal conduct, and detect and penalise such laundering where it occurs; to use the proceeds recovered for the benefit of the community.
Assets Recovery Agency, PO Box 39992 London EC4M 7XQ
This story was released on 2007-01-19. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.