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Kilkeel fishermen pay the price for illegal 'black' fishing

ASSETS RECOVERY AGENCY News Release issued by The Government News Network on 10 December 2007

The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), working in partnership with the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA), an executive agency of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), has successfully concluded a criminal confiscation investigation resulting in the Crown Court in Liverpool today granting five Confiscation Orders in the total sum of £1,075,056 in respect of three individuals and two companies convicted of landing fish stocks in excess of their permitted quota.

ARA's confiscation investigation followed the convictions in January at Liverpool Crown Court of Charles Leslie McBride, aged 54, of Kilkeel, Charles Hubert McBride, 35 years of Kilkeel, Leslie Clifford Girvan, 64 of Kilkeel, and two companies: McBride Fishing Company Limited, of which the McBrides are joint Directors and Kilkeel Fish Selling Company Limited, of which Girvan is Director. All five pleaded guilty to several specimen charges of making inaccurate fish landing declarations.

The prosecutions were brought by the Marine and Fisheries Agency after the detection of inaccurate fish landing declarations involving 12 fishing vessels, some of which were owned and controlled by the defendants during a period from January to October 2003.

ARA's confiscation investigation focused on whether or not, and if so, to what extent, the defendants have benefited from their illegal activity of under declaring the nature and value of fish catches when landing, at Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland and Whitehaven, Cumbria - a practice commonly known as landing 'black' fish.

Today at Liverpool Crown Court, His Honour Judge Nigel Gilmour held that the five defendants had benefited from their criminal conduct in these offences to a sum totalling £15,115,204:
* £647,334 in respect of Charles Leslie McBride:
* £489,689 in respect of Charles Hubert McBride;
* £1,003,686 in respect of Leslie Clifford Girvan;
* £380,242 in respect of McBride Fishing Company Limited; and
* £12,594,253in respect of Kilkeel Fish Selling Company Limited.

He then further made Confiscation Orders in the following sums:
* £150,813 against Charles Leslie McBride;
* £224,348 against Charles Hubert McBride;
* £498,506 against Leslie Clifford Girvan;
* £10,613 against McBride Fishing Company Limited; and
* £190,776 against Kilkeel Fish Selling Company Limited.

The Judge ordered that Charles Leslie McBride and Charles Hubert McBride had 6 months to pay or serve a period of imprisonment of two years and three months and two years and 6 months respectively in default, at the conclusion of which sentences they will still owe the full confiscation amounts.

In the case of Leslie Girvan he was also given 6 months to pay or serve a period of imprisonment of three years and 6 months in default, at the conclusion of which he will still owe the full confiscation amount. Both companies were given 6 months to pay.

Commenting on this latest success, ARA Deputy Director Operations, Charlie Dickin, said: "This is one of three cases where we have worked alongside the Marine and Fisheries Agency and shows our determination to recover the proceeds from all types of illegal activity including those that threaten sustainable fish stocks."

Marine and Fisheries Agency District Inspector, Mike Parker, said: "This is a serious case of cheating the system which is designed to safeguard fish stocks and thus protect the livelihoods of fishermen. This type of prosecution is necessary to prevent the unlawful landing of species that are subject to quota limits and the confiscation of assets will send out a clear message to those involved in similar activity that the government is resolute in its approach to recover the proceeds of crime from such behaviour."

Notes for Editors:
1. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 created the Assets Recovery Agency and in addition to confiscation proceedings pursuant to a criminal conviction 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.

2. In addition to these unique powers, the Agency is committed to building capacity for effective financial investigation throughout the law enforcement community and it offers its expertise to other agencies to assist them in confiscating criminal assets.

3. The Agency is playing its part in the multi-agency approach to deliver the Government's Asset Recovery Strategy. Under the cross government initiative 'Payback', the tracing of and 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 and their associates from laundering the proceeds of criminal conduct, and detect and penalise such laundering where it occurs; to use the proceeds recovered for the benefit of the community.

4. 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 and 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.

Assets Recovery Agency, PO Box 39992
London EC4M 7XQ

T +44 (020) 7029 5700
F +44 (020) 7029 5706
E enquiries@ara.gsi.gov.uk http://www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk