£750K GOLD BARS IN LUNCHBOX AT AIRPORT
ASTONISHING FIND CONFISCATED
EIGHT gold bars worth £750,000 were found hidden in a passenger’s LUNCHBOX.
The bars, which weighed around 16kg, were seized at Manchester Airport in November 2018 as a passenger prepared to head to Dubai.
They are set to be auctioned off by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The money raised during an online auction tomorrow will go back into the public purse to be spent on services such as hospitals and schools.
HMRC investigators applied for forfeiture of the bars, which was granted at Manchester magistrates court last month.
The 2017 Criminal Finance Act enables ‘listed assets’ – including precious metals – to be subjected to forfeiture in the same way as cash deemed to be from the proceeds of crime.
Gill Hilton, assistant director at HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: “This is the first time HMRC has used these powers to seize and forfeit a listed asset, and it should act as a deterrent to criminals looking to trade assets such as precious metals.
“If they are the proceeds of crime or intended for unlawful conduct, we now have the powers to take them from criminals and use the money for public services.
“The money raised through the auction will go straight back into the public purse, to be spent on vital services such as hospitals and schools. “We are determined to cut off the funds that finance serious crime in the UK.”
In the last year, HMRC has recovered more than £166m of illicit proceeds. Since the creation of a dedicated Proceeds of Crime unit three years ago, HMRC has recovered more than £700m for the public purse, seizing everything from cash to jewellery, to cars. Michael Streight, government sales coordinator at Wilsons Auctions said: “Wilsons Auctions is delighted to once again be realising a significant amount of 24ct gold bars on behalf of HMRC through its upcoming Online Luxury Assets Auction.
“Having successfully sold over
It should act as a deterrent to criminals looking to trade assets such as precious metals
Gill Hilton
£1m worth of gold for HMRC in a previous auction, we are proud to continue realising these luxury seized assets, with the money raised ultimately going back into the public purse.”
The auction will be held online, at 2pm tomorrow.