Criminals only pay up on 5% of confiscation orders imposed in April to June

Criminals have only handed over a fraction of the cash they have been ordered to by the courts in confiscation orders, figures have revealed.

While orders with a value of £1,579,000 were imposed on criminals in the period April to June 2021, data from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) showed that by October 18 just £74,000 had been paid.

With the figures showing that confiscation orders for the period were 95% in arrears, with only 5% paid at that point, the Tories branded them as a “scandalous betrayal” of Scotland’s communities.

The orders were introduced in a bid to force offenders to hand over the proceeds of their crimes, so that the money could be put to use across Scotland.

However, Scottish Conservative community safety spokesman Russell Findlay said the figures showed that “under the SNP, crime now pays and wealthy crooks clearly have nothing to fear from proceeds of crime laws”.

He said: “These figures represent a scandalous betrayal of every drug-scarred community across Scotland.

“When proceeds of crime laws were introduced at the turn of the millennium, we were told they’d bankrupts those at the pinnacle of organise crime. They have failed.

“If the SNP government was genuinely serious about tackling these gangs, they would give our police, prosecutors and courts the resources they need to do their jobs.”

A  Scottish Government spokesman explained however that it could “take time” for money to be paid “due to the size of the sums involved”.

He stated: “The Proceeds of Crime Act remains an extremely powerful and effective tool in the fight against organised crime in Scotland.

“Where a confiscation order has been made by the court following conviction, the collection process is directed by the court process, however due to the size of the sums involved this can take time.

“Where payment is not made within the time allowed the case may be brought back before the court at which time any further enforcement procedure to recover the outstanding balance will be considered.

“This may include for example, the appointment of an administrator who will assist in the ingathering and management of realisable property.”

The spokesman added: “Between 2006-07 and 2020-21, almost £124 million of ill-gotten gains has been recovered under the Proceeds of Crime legislation.”