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<p> </p><p> </p><p>Our accounts are based on financial years as opposed to calendar
years; therefore the value and volume of outstanding confiscation orders as at 31
March, from 2010 through to 2013, are set out in the table below.</p><p> </p><p>However,
as at 31 December 2013, there were 20,634 outstanding confiscation orders totalling
£1,466,924,522 including interest. Excluding interest the figure is £1,094,584,445.</p><p>
</p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Volume of Orders Outstanding</strong></p></td><td
colspan="2"><p><strong>Value of Orders Outstanding </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td>
</td><td><p><strong>Excluding Interest</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Including Interest</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Excluding
Interest</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Including Interest</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>31
March 2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6,359</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>12,771</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>711,409,802</strong></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>870,804,796</strong></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>31
March 2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>7,488</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>15,227</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>1,046,473,308</strong></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>1,254,278,825</strong></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>31
March 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>8,397</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>17,440</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>915,151,064</strong></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>1,195,167,499</strong></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>31
March 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>9,295</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>19,727</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>1,055,230,330</strong></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£<strong>1,406,638,265</strong></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p> </p><p>During 2011/12, two successful appeals with a combined total of £184.7
million were reduced to a total of £32.3 million. This reduced the outstanding debt
by £152.4 million.</p><p> </p><p>Confiscation orders are one of the key mechanisms
available to the Government to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes.
The value of the order imposed, which is often very high, is based on the criminal
benefit attributed to the crime and may, therefore, exceed the value of realisable
assets that are known to the Court at the time of imposition. Crucially, an outstanding
order stops the criminal benefitting from the proceeds of crime and ensures that,
if the assets are discovered in the future, they can be seized.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts
and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and other enforcement agencies take the issue of recovering
criminal assets very seriously and are working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters
is a continued priority nationwide.</p><p> </p><p>Although, as the Enforcement Authority,
HMCTS owns the debt, it is not always the lead enforcement agency. HMCTS tends to
lead on the high volume, low value orders. Prosecution agencies, including the CPS
and the Serious Fraud Office, lead on enforcement where they have put Restraint Orders
on the defendant's property to protect the asset, or where the professional expertise
of an Enforcement Receiver will be required to enforce the confiscation order.</p><p>
</p><p>All outstanding amounts are actively pursued using a range of enforcement tools
open to us. A confiscation order is a life time order and only amounts up to £50 can
be written off. Default sentences of up to 10 years in prison are activated for non
payment. Serving the default sentence does not cancel the debt and we will continue
to pursue the amount owed. Interest is added to the order balance outstanding at the
rate of 8% per annum. The fact that interest accrues at such a high rate and amounts
over £50 cannot be written off, contribute to the increasing level of debt. At the
end of December 2013, the total amount outstanding was £1.47 billion, of which £372
million was interest alone. At the end of December 2013, including interest £24 million
is owed by defendants who are deceased and a further £86 million is owed by defendants
who have been deported. Even for those that are deported we still try to actively
pursue the defendants assets held abroad, but we rely on the cooperation of overseas
enforcement agencies, which is often not forthcoming. The Agencies responsible for
enforcement are building better relationships with overseas authorities and engage
specialist forensic teams to track down hidden assets.</p><p> </p><p>The amount defendants
repaid from their criminal activity across all agencies reached an all time high during
2012/13, with a total of £133.1 million recovered. That represented a 7% increase
on the £124.1 million recovered during 2011/12. The total amount recovered has increased
for the last four consecutive years and once again we are on course to have another
record breaking year this financial year. For the 2013/14 financial year, at the end
of December 2013, £102.8 million had been recovered, which is an increase of 2% on
the £100.5 million that was collected up to December 2012. Since 2008/09, when £98.8
Million was recovered, the amount collected from criminals has increased by 35%.</p><p>
</p><p>HMCTS is seeking a commercial partner to help increase collections, reduce
enforcement costs and importantly, ensure more criminals pay. A new national system
has been implemented to manage the collection of fixed penalty notices, with all of
the Police Forces having transferred to the new platform by June 2013.The continuing
improvement the Agencies are making combined with our future plans will ensure that
more criminals pay and that taxpayers get better value for money.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
</p><p> </p>
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