Financial Investigation Team

• What does the Financial Investigation Team do?
• Why should I refer a case?
• Is there a cost for this service?
• Which cases should I refer?
• How do I refer a case?
• Our successes
• Contact us

What does the Financial Investigation Team do?

The Financial Investigation Team investigates crimes of a financial nature and confiscates the proceeds of crime.

The team was created in January 2009. We are based in Huddersfield, Kirklees, but act on behalf of the 5 West Yorkshire Local Authorities; Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield and West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service.

We work closely with colleagues from all areas of Local Authority law enforcement including Benefit Fraud, Licensing, Planning, Housing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards departments.

During our investigations we identify all assets that have been obtained as a direct result or in connection with criminal activity, and apply to the Court for a Confiscation Order using powers under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. We can then ask the court to confiscate these assets.

This is a huge deterrent to potential criminals and clearly demonstrates that crime doesn't pay.

In most cases criminals are happy to serve the sentence imposed on them by the Courts, but what really gets to them, is to have their assets confiscated and see their lifestyle disappear.

Why should I refer a case?

We have an agreement across all the West Yorkshire Local Authorities and West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service to investigate and prosecute financial cases on their behalf. This agreement has a range of benefits including:

• One port of call for all cases of this nature.
• Immediate access to experienced investigators who can identify the full extent of the defendant's criminal activity and uncover hidden assets.
• Eliminates the costs of setting up your own financial investigators.
• Raises revenue for your Authority from the income generated as a result of a Confiscation Order.
• Our achievements help to deters others operating in your area.

Obtaining a Confiscation Order acts as an effective recovery tool for benefit fraud overpayments or for any loss incurred as a result of criminal activity. Confiscation proceedings can also generate income as monies recovered through the Proceeds of Crime legislation.

It is recommended that any monies recovered through Proceeds of Crime legislation should be invested to:

• drive up performance on asset recovery and
• fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community, e.g youth offending schemes/ crime re-habilitation schemes within your area.

Is there a cost for this service?

The fee we charge for our service will be dependant on the size of the Confiscation Order obtained.

Which cases should I refer?

Any you suspect someone has gained their assets through unlawful activity.

Example:

A married couple claimed Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Jobseekers Allowance whilst failing to declare capital held over £16,000. As a result of the Benefit Fraud investigation a fraudulent overpayment of benefit totalling £25,600 was calculated.

The case was referred to us for a financial investigation on the basis that the source of the capital was unknown. Large amounts of cash were being credited to the couple's accounts on a regular basis but both individuals were unemployed, and had been for many years.

We obtained a full profile of their banking and made an assessment of their criminal gain. The original source of the monies was never determined, however, the legislation allows us to make an assumption that it must be from criminal activity in the absence of any legitimate income. It is up to the defendants to prove this assumption is incorrect and they were unable to do so.

The monies held in bank accounts totalling £29,394 were restrained to prevent dissipation.

Both defendants were convicted of benefit fraud offences and as part of the sentencing Confiscation Orders of £14334.55 and £15059.78 were obtained against them.

How do I refer a case?

We have a referral form you can use to capture as much information as possible, including full details of the case and of any known assets. The information you provide will help us to decide if the case is suitable for progression.

• Investigation referral form

We will respond to each referral to let you know what action we are taking.

Contact us