ASSETS RECOVERY
AGENCY News Release issued by The Government News Network on 11
September 2007
The Assets
Recovery Agency has obtained a Property Freezing Order over assets
with an estimated minimal value of £948,000 held by Roger Allen
Vincent, formerly of Penn in Buckinghamshire and his partner,
Julie Ann Taylor, of Penn, Bucks.
Mr Vincent, 35, is currently serving a life sentence of at least
30 years for the murder of David King, for which he was convicted
at Luton Crown Court in August 2005. David King was killed by
bullets fired from an AK-47 assault rifle used by Mr Vincent in
the drive-by shooting in Hoddesdon, Herts. The case was referred
to the Agency by the Metropolitan Police.
In its case to the High Court, the Agency alleged that the
property and assets held by Mr Vincent, or on his behalf, were
obtained as a result of unlawful conduct including drug
trafficking, fraud, extortion, contract killings and money laundering.
Initial assets frozen include:
* a £500,000 property in Penn, Bucks. This is jointly held in the
name of Mr Vincent and his partner, Julie Ann Taylor, who is not
believed to be implicated in the criminality.
* a villa in Malaga, Spain
* a plot of land in Cyprus
* A BMW X5 Sport car, held in the name of Julie Ann Taylor
* Cash held in various bank accounts and pension policies held by
both Mr Vincent and Miss Taylor
Whilst giving evidence at the murder trial in 2005, Mr Vincent
admitted that most of his lifestyle was funded by illegal means
and that he assisted criminals in moving their money, occasionally
using foreign companies as conduits.
Speaking after the successful hearing at the High Court, ARA
Deputy Director of Operations, Charlie Dickin, said: "This is
another excellent example of the use of civil recovery powers to
target the assets of those who are involved in serious crime.
"We have made a good, arguable case to the High Court that
this property was derived from the proceeds of unlawful activity
and the Property Freezing Order will prevent them from being
dissipated while our financial investigators continue with their
investigations to establish both their source and any other assets
which we will seek to recover where appropriate."
Notes for Editors:
1. At this point, assets have been 'frozen'. The
Agency's investigation into the provenance of Mr
Vincent's assets will continue. When the Agency's
investigation is completed it will apply for a Recovery Order on
any assets that are considered 'recoverable'.
2. Any legal tenants residing in the properties belonging to Mr
Vincent are not connected to the criminality in this case.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. On 11th January 2007, the Home Office laid a Written
Ministerial Statement before Parliament setting out Government
proposals to merge the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) with the
Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), and to extend to
prosecutors the power to launch civil recovery action under the
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Written Ministerial Statement can
be viewed at http://www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk/AboutARA/.
Any proposed merger will require primary legislation. In the
meantime ARA will continue to operate as before and use its powers
to the full in proceeding with all cases under active litigation
as well as adopting new cases from referring agencies in the
criminal enforcement community.
Assets Recovery Agency, PO Box 39992
London EC4M 7XQ
http://www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk