Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 18 December 2024 (HL3295) for each year since 2019, how much cryptocurrency was recovered from confiscation, forfeiture, and civil recovery orders by (1) Police Forces in England and Wales, (2) the National Crime Agency, (3) His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, (4) the Serious Fraud Office, (5) the Crown Prosecution Service, (6) Border Force, (7) the Financial Conduct Authority, and (8) local authorities in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.
We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 18 December 2024 (HL3295), of the £243.3 million of assets recovered from confiscation, forfeiture, and civil recovery orders in the financial year 2023–24, what percentage was made up by cryptocurrencies; and how much of this has been redistributed to law enforcement agencies under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.
We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they currently hold any Bitcoin, and if so, how much they hold; when and under what powers they accumulated it; which body or individual has custody over it; and how it is being stored.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government does not hold any Bitcoin.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.
We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type. We publish annual statistics on the amount of proceeds of crime confiscated and recovered as detailed on GOV.UK Asset recovery statistics: financial years ending 2019 to 2024 - GOV.UK.