James Saunders discusses the National Crime Agency in the June 2020 issue of Financier Worldwide

The National Crime Agency’s annual budget already exceeds £500m, but it has called for a further annual £900m.

In these straightened times, where could such monies possibly be found? It is not widely appreciated that the police receive a share of confiscated money and assets to “reinvest into policing, through an incentive scheme”.    For confiscations of assets, the Home Office gets half, and the other half is split equally between the police, the CPS and the courts.

The NCA has a ‘prosperity director’, Mr Donald Toon. The term ‘prosperity director’ suggests an interest in prosperity, arguably at odds with the overriding interests of criminal justice. The government and police have a direct commercial interest, and it is understood that generous bonuses have been paid to officers whose cases succeed.

When facing such conflicts of interest, the NCA is accountable to the Home Secretary and, through her to parliament.    There are concerns about the adequacy of the safeguards and James Saunders discusses these in more detail in the June 2020 issue of Financier Worldwide.