Criminal cash handed back to communities as we seize over £15 million in the last tax year

Our Economic Crime Unit consist of police officers, detectives and staff who deal with complex investigations relating to serious fraud, money laundering and confiscating finances of those that have profited from crime in Greater Manchester.

The unit is made up of a number of teams who each specialise in targeting criminals cash in the journey from the seizure of cash to the recovery of these funds in court.

This last financial year, teams in the Economic Crime Unit have together recovered £15,163,436.27 of criminal money.

The Money Laundering Team conduct warrants, and they are able to put a dent in criminal’s finances by seizing cash and high value items such as cars, designer clothing, jewellery and artwork which we believe has come from the product of criminality. We are one of a few police forces in the country to have a dedicated and proactive money laundering team working within an Economic Crime Unit.

Our Account Freezing Order team are the officers who target criminal’s bank accounts. The team were the first team in the UK to use forfeiture legislation to forfeit money from bank accounts if we believe the money has come from the profits of crime.

The Asset Detention and Recovery Unit work hard to investigate all assets and cash that have been seized under the Proceeds of Crime by officers on all districts across Greater Manchester including the Money Laundering Team. They look into where the money has come, and if this is criminal, but also its intended use before presenting this to  court so the team can recover the finances.

The Restraint and Confiscation team, primarily target assets that are suspected to be owned or controlled by criminals.

Collectively, the Economic Crime Unit have broken records in the sheer volume of cash they are seizing and then recovering for the force which is ultimately used as Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) funding to benefit the local communities in Greater Manchester.

Detective Inspector Sarah Langley of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “This significant achievement not only disrupts criminals as they look to line their pockets with illicit cash, but it also directly benefits communities across Greater Manchester as these funds are being reinvested into vital community programmes and services through our ARIS funding scheme.

“It’s fitting that we recover the money from those individuals who have profited from crime for their own selfish gain and will now be used to improve our communities in Greater Manchester giving the funding to those who need it the most.

“Over the last financial year, we have worked hard to dismantle several criminal networks engaged in money laundering, fraud, and other financial crimes.

“We work so hard to seize cash, whether that be through investigating individuals and conducting warrants or through our Operation Falcon which is the action against the transportation of cash with help from our specialist teams across the force.

“This year we have recovered over £15 million and a significant amount has been put back into Greater Manchester, it is so satisfying when we can see that our hard work has a difference on the communities we serve, and this encourages us to get even more money this next financial year.

“Anyone with concerns or information about suspicious financial activity or you see or suspect something is wrong, tell us, and we can sort it - you should report to police online, if able, at www.gmp.police.uk or via 101.

“Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”