Criminals fail to pay the courts £6m ‘dirty money’
Prosecutors still owed cash despite confiscation orders being imposed
SCOTLAND’S richest criminals have failed to pay back almost £6 million seized from them under “dirty money” laws.
Prosecutors say they are taking more than £8m a year under the Proceeds of Crime Act and diverting the money into community projects.
However, many of the crooks, including fraudsters, drug dealers and money launderers, still owe cash years after confiscation orders were imposed on them by courts.
Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) figures released under freedom of information laws show there is £5,943,839 outstanding in confiscation orders. More than £3m is owed by just 10 people.
As of last month, benefits fraudster Anthony Kearney, of Glasgow, had the largest amount outstanding at £898,441. Kearney, 51, and his girlfriend Donna McCafferty were tracked down in Spain in 2008.
A £930,362 confiscation order was imposed in October, 2011, but he has paid just over £30,000 and is currently appealing the order.
Drug dealer Alexander Cameron, 67, from Kirknewton, West Lothian, was ordered to pay £525,000 in April, 2014, but he was murdered in January, 2015 before he made any payments.
An administrator has been appointed in an attempt to recover the money from his estate.
VAT fraudster Michael Voudouri has not paid a penny back of a £207,339 order handed down to him last year.
He is serving an 11-and-a-half year sentence for laundering the proceeds of a huge VAT fraud and breaching bail by going on the run to Cyprus. Gangster Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson still owes £136,755 of a £747,080 order imposed in 2008 after he was convicted of money laundering. In November prosecutors went back to court in a bid to increase the original order.
Claire Baker MSP, Scottish Labour’s justice spokeswoman, said: “These figures show that there is work still to be done to ensure that those convicted have to pay for the crimes that they have committed.”
Conservative justice spokesman Douglas Ross MSP said: “A series of extremely poor settlements make a mockery of the proceeds of crime legislation. The whole point of this is to make sure criminals who make money from communities in this way are forced to pay it back. But in so many cases the figure is absolutely pitiful, and will be of no benefit to victims of crime in communities whatsoever.”
Court officials who are responsible for fines collection said that of the total £5,943,839 outstanding, £317,005.28 is “on track” to be paid through instalments, but the remaining £5,626,833.85 arrears.
An SCTS spokesman said: “The nature of a confiscation order is such that it can call for complex recovery processes.
“Where payment of the sum due is in default the case may return to court and may appoint an administrator to support the realisation of assets.
“While these are robust powers they can take time to implement and recovery periods can at times be lengthy.” is in
‘‘ The whole point of this is to make sure criminals who make money from communities are forced to pay it back. In so many cases the figure is pitiful