Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Assets Recovery Agency to be abolished…
Thanks to Art Hostage, here’s another neat bit of scene shifting going on the background… Hmmm… There seems to be an awful lot of striping down going on, and few explanations…
Mick Fealty @ 06:44 PM
Well, not quite abolished, incorporated into SOCA.
btw it’s worth looking at the UK-wide ARA stats
“Our progress against targets over 2004/05 has been marked by notable successes and important learning points:
We have gained civil court orders to recover £4.4 million of criminal assets (£0.3 million in NI). We have realised £4.1 million (£0.8 million in NI) through disposals of houses, financial instruments and luxury items such as jewellery. We have assisted law enforcement partners in confiscating £7.2 million from convicted criminals and we have issued a number of tax assessments.”
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 07:14 PMWell obviously Sinn Fein asked for it to go....
Thats why the government has just abolished it for the entire UK.........
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 07:22 PMLooks more like part of an attempt at turning SOCA into a UK version of the FBI.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 07:26 PMNo Pete no, its 100% driven the NI agenda, the abolition of an entire agency.
The fact that it cost more than it spent is irrelevant.
Why can’t you people see?
Seig Heil
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 07:32 PMCost more than it recovered...sorry was talking to the other half there as i was typing....she had a fair few shopping bags.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 07:36 PMTax does’nt have to be taxing, just don’t pay !!
And there’s “nuffin yew can do abowt it”
Does anyone still doubt we live in a vacuous world???
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 08:22 PMBy allowing the Serious Organised Crime Agency to be responsible for asset recovery, the Home Office has given S.O.C.A. an invaluable tool to use against Organised crime.
It means S.O.C.A. can make deals that see’s some criminals keep their ill-gotten gains if they spill ther beans on rival gangsters, higher up’s.
The FBI has been doing this for years, why Sammy Gravano was allowed to go into the witness protection programme with $30 million, for testifying against John Gotti and many others, before he went back to crime.
Morally repugnant, but practical.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 08:43 PMHmmm - not sure - I am suspicious enough to think the English did not want the nasty little Irish guys now involved in policing taking the money of those awfuly nice Irish who helped us immensely
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 10:40 PMThere’s no reason why this couldn’t have been part of a deal with the Shinners, as well as convenient for the British. After all, the vast bulk of operations and resources of the ARA were concentrated in Northern Ireland.
The GB end of things was an ineffectual disaster though.
In addition, the ARA was starting to look a bit lame, since it seemed to concentrate on freezing the assets of dead loyalist drug dealers, dodgy ice cream salesmen and instead of ‘recovering’ assets (to help pay for the ARA itself) those assets were merely ‘frozen’ and useless while in legal limbo.
Mind you, Slab Murphy can probably sleep a bit easier tonight.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 10:57 PMGonzo
It makes much more sense as a reconfiguration of SOCA as a wannabe-FBI unit.
Plus an announcement on this could be used to deflect attention from other Home Office issues.
But it is interesting that the BBC NI unit gets the leak first - and could therefore fuel the rumours about it being connected to the activities of ‘good republicans’ - regardless of the UK-wide implementation.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:06 PMBtw.. Slab Murphy has to tangle with the Irish version of the ARA in the courts… not the UK’s.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:07 PMSlowly, slowly, catchy monkey !!
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:20 PMThat’s a meaningless comment in the circumstances, Art.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:24 PMSo, Pete, do you really think the CAB will pick up the torch from the ARA and continue with the prosecution of the Murphy family?
Do you really think it is in the interests of many high profile public figures in the Republic of Ireland to allow this prosecution to run its course?
I know your personal opinion, just the fallout from a high profile court case will, imho, open up a can of worms that would be embarassing to many public figures from Dublin to Downing street.
Anyway, Slab is of much more use in bringing in the Dissident Republicans from the cold by funding a political entity away from Sinn Fein.
Dissident Republicans taking the same long road as Sinn Fein, ceasefire first, political inclusion, courting by London/Dublin.
Once Sinn Fein sign up to policing the attention will turn onto Dissident Republicans to bring about a total republican ceasefire.
Sinn Fein are becoming the new SDLP and Dissident Republicans are being groomed as the new Sinn Fein, circa late 1980’s
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:39 PMArt
The ARA don’t currently hold that torch.. it’s already held by the CAB.
“I know your personal opinion..”
No, you don’t. I’m telling you the facts.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:50 PM“Thanks to Art Hostage”
‘Twas I who spotted and posted it actually.
It’s a shame, as I’d have liked to see the ARA strip all Britain’s major ports, commercial institutions and landed gentry of the proceeds of the biggest crime in the history of humanity, i.e. the Slave Trade.
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:57 PMCorrection, I, unwisely asummed your opinion, applogies for that.
In an ideal world good guys win and bad guys lose.
In the real world there is a grey area.
Do you think the CAB will pursue this case till the bitter end or will they have the rug pulled out from under them?
You do your research, you know what has been reported about the Murphy family and who has been connected to them over the years.
considering all the history do you think there is the political will to pursue this case, especially as the Brit govt seems to have resigned itself to let sleeping dogs lie?
Posted by on Jan 10, 2007 @ 11:59 PMIt certainly was Ian who posted the ARA story.
I accept credit on Ian’s behalf and gladly pass it back to him.
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 12:02 AMWhether or not the CAB follow through on their prosecution has little to do with the expected announcment that ARA will be subsumed within SOCA.
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 12:15 AMUnless this is a foretaste of things to come with the CAB being subsumed into the Irish version of S.O.C.A
As the Murphy case is the mose high profile case for both the ARA and CAB surely it has alot to do with the the disbanding of the ARA.
If you don’t want to answer the question fine.
I wonder Pete, when you were at school did you help good old teacher recover ill gotten assets from the tuck shop, I am sure that would have made you such a popular lad !!
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 12:26 AM“As the Murphy case is the mose high profile case for both the ARA and CAB surely it has alot to do with the the disbanding of the ARA.”
I realise that this individual case is the basis of your assertions… but you have no facts to back it up.
Whereas the UK-wide ARA stats, and the CAB’s current handling of that case, indicate differently.. as does the long-term objective of a UK version of the FBI.
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 12:33 AMI do not mean the ARA was disbanded because of the Murphy case, of course not, it will be more effective under the umbrella of S.O.C.A.
the UK stats do show the ARA cost more to run than recovered but the figures for NI tell a different story.
I agree the Brits are trying to form a version of the FBI and asset recovery is another string to their bow.
My point is the ARA in NI was a victim of its own success and in NI it has uncovered some things too close to home so to speak.
the Murphy case does cross both agencies that is why it is unique.
I ask, does the ARA disbanding affect the Murphy case and do you think the CAB will purse it to the bitter end?
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 12:46 AM“I do not mean the ARA was disbanded because of the Murphy case, of course not, it will be more effective under the umbrella of S.O.C.A.”
Which should answer your other questions?
Apart from the future of the CAB, that is..
Perhaps you should reconsider your chosen position?
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 12:50 AMI knew it.
Someone would claim that the abolition of the ARA had something to do with a SF request.
Lets get this clear. It has comparatively little to do with NI, at all.
I thank you.
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 09:37 AMI ask, does the ARA disbanding affect the Murphy case and do you think the CAB will purse it to the bitter end?
The CAB has and is an extremely effective organisation, the organisation on which the ARA was based and indeed im sure the S.O.C.A. will take a lot of the lessons learned by the CAB to heart.
I see no reason why the CAB as an independant unit, would not pursue this case to the end. Pulling it would just raise questions and a government would fall
Posted by on Jan 11, 2007 @ 10:19 AM
