The transformation of criminal cash into money that benefits the communities of Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Police's Economic Crime Unit has seized over £17 million from criminals in the past year, with funds being redistributed to community initiatives aimed at reducing crime. The money is recovered through various policing activities, including warrants and stop searches, and is legally processed through the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). Operation Falcon, launched in 2022, has been particularly effective in targeting money laundering and organised crime. The recovered funds are split between community initiatives and further asset recovery work, with 50% retained locally and 50% returned to the Home Office.
Greater Manchester Police stripped criminals of a record £17.7 million over the past year, with every penny now flowing back into neighbourhoods hit hardest by crime.
The force’s Economic Crime Unit recovered £17,715,283.24 through warrants, stop-searches and Account Freezing Orders that targeted both cash stockpiles and criminal bank accounts. Under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme, half the money returns to Whitehall while GMP directs its £8.8 million share toward community projects and further asset-recovery operations.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Buckthorpe, who leads the 100-strong unit, said the haul represents the largest annual cash recovery in recent GMP history. “It really shows that the hard work from officers and staff in the unit and across the force is making a real difference in communities across Greater Manchester,” he said.
Operation Falcon, launched in May 2022 to disrupt money-laundering networks, has accounted for more than £2 million of the total. The remaining cases pass to the Asset Detention and Recovery Unit, where civil investigators use the balance of probability to prove cash is crime proceeds before judges order permanent forfeiture.
Hours into the new financial year, officers demonstrated the crackdown will not relent. Dawn raids yesterday in Salford and Cheetham Hill saw two men arrested on suspicion of money laundering after investigators seized £50,000 in cash and an £80,000 vehicle.
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