Published: 11 February 2008
Acquitted but still paying up
The Assets Recovery Agency has been granted a Civil Recovery Order to recover an estimated £537,000 worth of assets held by Andrew John Pickering of Middlesbrough.
The High Court order follows an agreed settlement between the respondent and the Agency.
In its case against Pickering the Agency alleged that his assets were obtained through unlawful conduct, namely drug trafficking and further contended that his lifestyle & property acquisitions far exceeded any lawful means of income.
Despite claiming he had made his money mainly from car dealing (purchase and sale of used cars), also through a pyramid game called ‘matchboard’ and from providing security from a social club and security for an ice cream van, the majority of these claims could not be substantiated nor sufficient to acquire & maintain his lavish lifestyle.
The recoverable assets include:
· The family home and contents at Nunthorpe Gardens, Middlesbrough
· Two tenanted properties
· A Mercedes V Class Ambiente People Carrier
· The proceeds of the sale of a BMW M3 convertible
· Several items of jewellery and
· £40,000 in a bank account
This case was referred to ARA by Cleveland Police in February 2004 shortly after Pickering had been acquitted of counts of supplying controlled drugs.
Following a detailed investigation the Agency successfully obtained an Interim Receiving Order in January 2005 freezing property & assets held by Pickering.
An Interim Receiver was appointed by the Court and undertook an independent investigation.
On 4 February 2008 the trial was due to begin before Mr Justice Coulson, but a settlement was reached between Pickering and the Agency in the afternoon of the first day of trial. As part of the agreement Pickering has retained 5 tenanted properties.
Charlie Dickin, ARA Deputy Director Operations commenting on the Agency's latest success said:
"Despite Mr Pinkering's acquittal the High Court has accepted that we have made a good arguable case that these assets were obtained through unlawful activity.
We are delighted with the outcome in this case. He had amassed considerable assets and lived a lavish lifestyle without having the necessary level of lawful income.
Again, by using our unique powers of civil recovery, we have successfully proved his wealth was acquired through criminal activity."
The final amount recoverable will depend on the price houses fetch when sold and any existing mortgage and other liabilities.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 created the Assets Recovery Agency 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.
Under the cross government initiative 'Payback', the tracing of & 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 & their associates from laundering the proceeds of criminal conduct
· detect & penalise such laundering where it occurs
· use the proceeds recovered for the benefit of the community
On 31 October 2007, the Serious Crime Bill received Royal Assent. The new Act will merge the operational elements of the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), and the training & accreditation functions with the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).
It will also extend to certain prosecutors the power to launch civil recovery action under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Until then ARA will continue to operate as before and use its powers to the full in proceeding to complete existing cases and adopt new cases for future action.
Further information
Assets Recovery Agency (ARA)
Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA)
National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
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