ASSETS RECOVERY AGENCY FREEZES FURTHER £2 MILLION
8 Aug 2005 10:15 AM
The Agency has been granted two Interim Receiving Orders for assets
with a total estimated value in excess of £2 million and has reached
a settlement of over £80,000 in a civil recovery case.
In the two Interim Receiving Order cases, the Agency contends that
assets were acquired through unlawful activity linked to drug
trafficking and money laundering. Brief details are:
* Assets with an estimated value of at least £1 million held by David
Gale (also known as David Moore) and Teresa Mandy Gale formerly of
Christchurch, Hampshire have been frozen. These include the proceeds
from the sale of the couple's £450,000 home, a Mercedes SL500, two
other cars, a part-built boat and several bank accounts
* In a case involving assets with an estimated value of over £1
million, John Szepietowski is named as a respondent in his capacity
of director and company secretary of Countess Investments Limited
(registered office 33 Monument Green, Weybridge, Surrey) and in his
capacity as trustee of the Heritage Investment Trust.
The Agency has reached a settlement with Jonathan Edward Alford of
Skibereen, Co. Cork, Republic of Ireland. The Agency alleged that Mr
Alford had purchased a property in Bath with the proceeds of drug
trafficking. The property was sold in April 2002 and the proceeds of
the sale have been held in a client account by a solicitor. The
Agency has accepted Mr Alford's offer to settle of £84,253.16.
Jane Earl, Director of the Agency said: "We have made excellent
progress in disrupting criminals by ensuring that assets have been
taken out of circulation and cannot be used to fund even more crime.
We are doing everything that we can to bring cases to a conclusion to
ensure that crime does not pay."
Notes for Editors:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Assets are usually restrained at an early stage in the Agency's
proceedings. Interim Receiving Orders or Freezing Orders are granted
where ARA has presented a good arguable case that assets have been
unlawfully acquired - at this stage only the Agency's initial
arguments have been heard. Respondents then have the opportunity to
present any facts to counter the Agency's arguments.
Assets Recovery Agency,
PO Box 39992
London EC4M 7XQ
T +44 (0)20 7029 5700
F +44 (0)20 7029 5706
E enquiries@ara.gsi.gov.uk
www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk