A civil recovery order pertaining to roughly 54 million pounds ($65 million) in suspected illegal property kept in accounts with Barclays was acquired by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) on Friday.
Barclays, which contacted the NCA about the money first, agreed with the agency’s lawyers when they testified in front of London’s High Court that the money is likely “the profits of illicit behavior.”
In court documents, NCA representative Andrew Sutcliffe stated that the NCA will set up a claim process to permit “innocent account holders” to request the money’s restoration provided they can demonstrate that it is not criminal property.
Judge Robin Knowles stated that he was “without hesitation” ready to issue the civil recovery order.
According to a Barclay spokeswoman, “We applaud the High Court’s judgment, which enables the cash to be handed to the NCA to advance their efforts in fighting fraud and economic crime.”
According to the NCA, the case is “a fantastic illustration of how the public and commercial sectors can cooperate together to collect proceeds of crime.”
The reason we were able to pursue this action, according to Adrian Searle, director of the National Economic Crime Centre within the NCA, was Barclays’ proactive identification of these monies.
In a statement, Searle added, “The money will be credited to the public purse and used to fund a variety of work, including programs designed to prevent fraud and protect potential victims.”
