A high-level government lawyer, the official responsible for pursuing the ill-gotten gains of organized criminals, has confirmed that "real cases" are underway.
Anne-Louise House, who heads the elite but low-profile Civilian Recovery Unit (CRU), declined to give details of the measures being taken.
But its disclosure suggests that criminals can't be sure their loot will be safe if they try to store it or try to crypto.
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Asked if her team had gone after crypto, Ms House told The Herald: "There are actual cases, but I don't want to say anything in particular about that."
โThere are cases involving cryptography. The crypto is then converted to fiat currency. There may be cases where we are following money and there are cryptocurrencies in that chain.
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โSo, to be clear, we are not saying that we are freezing crypto. But that we are investigating cases where there is a cryptographic elementโ.
This is an important point.
The UK government, under its new economic crime bill, is looking to develop legal tools for authorities to freeze multiple accounts or wallets containing cryptocurrency. It is understood that the CRU, through the Scottish Government, has offered advice on this legislation.
Therefore, the CRU cannot freeze cryptocurrencies, but can investigate those who use said currencies, especially when the funds are exchanged for sterling.
Organized criminals have long steered clear of fiat currency, money issued by states as pounds, dollars or euros, to hold their wealth. Ms. House emphasized that her team frequently searched for high-value items that criminals use to store wealth, such as luxury watches, jewelry or gold shavings.
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As she explained in The long Herald reading on Saturdaythe CRU's primary mission is to harass organized crime groups, or OCGs, by asking tough questions of "clean skins" or scapegoats who have dirty money or assets on behalf of the gangsters.
Ms House explained: โPOCA powers give us the opportunity to disrupt OCG operations through investigation and asset disposal.
โThat includes assets that are strategically placed on behalf of others, which is something we run into quite often, when someone who owns property is used as a front for a GDO.
โIn our view, asset stripping helps destabilize GDOs by removing funding flows and puts pressure on GDOs that are not currently subject to proactive criminal investigations.โ
This is the key point. CRU operates under civil law, where the burden of proof is less, such as the "balance of probabilities", not "beyond a reasonable doubt".
That means it can reach criminals that police and prosecutors may not be able to touch. The unit can act against people who have not been found guilty in criminal court.
Ms. House emphasized that some of the valuable items her unit is targeting, such as jewelry, may have sentimental value. The CRU, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is further advancing its investigations, carrying out detailed accounting surveys. That means you can start early negotiations with people who have unexplained wealth. Targets are often settled out of court, especially if you allow them to argue that some of your wealth, perhaps represented by items like jewelry, can be argued as legitimate on the balance of probabilities.
A senior government lawyer has confirmed that there are live cases where lawyers for the elite but low profile Civil Recovery Uni are not disclosing details of their operations.
However, the revelations come as the Westminster government seeks to bolster the powers of government police, prosecutors and lawyers to pursue illicit hidden profits in crypto.
