The legislation underpinning an agency which will confiscate the proceeds of paramilitary activities in the North should be in place by next summer.
The multi-agency task force, promised by the Northern Secretary at the Labour Party conference on Monday, will tackle paramilitary finances in much the same way as the Criminal Assets Bureau has done in the Republic.
As is the case with CAB, the as yet unnamed agency will have the power to seize assets and make tax assessments on suspects with the burden of proof being on the suspects.
The new body will require further legislation for it to be given the power to seize assets without a criminal conviction.
Although the Northern Ireland Office did not want to pre-empt the queen's speech, where legislation for the next parliamentary year is outlined, it is understood a bill providing the legal underpinning for the agency's activities will be in parliament before Christmas.
It would be hoped that legislation would be in place before summer.
Making the announcement, the Northern Secretary said the agency would be co-ordinated by the Northern Ireland Security Minister, Mr Adam Ingram.
It would, said Mr Peter Mandelson, have a multi-agency approach.
While a similar body is planned for England and Wales, the Northern body would include members of Customs and Excise, the Inland Revenue and RUC and probably representatives of both military intelligence and MI5.
It is a common belief that many leading figures in both pro- and anti-agreement loyalist and republican groups are heavily involved in racketeering, money-laundering and the smuggling of drugs, fuel and other substances.
Some former prisoners seem to be living well above their means with ostentatious displays of jewellery and luxury cars.
Loyalist paramilitaries are involved in drug-dealing while their republican counterparts, who hold sway in Border areas, control the fuel-smuggling trade. This is estimated to be worth tens of millions of pounds.
The RUC's Financial Investigation Unit, formerly known as the Terrorist Investigation Unit, already deals with confiscation and could be expected to provide the backbone of the new agency.
An RUC spokesman said the unit's role was to lay information before the courts about those who had been convicted of offences such as drug-dealing.
Under proceeds-of-crime legislation from 1996, the burden of proof lies with the convicted person to prove that their assets are not proceeds of the crime for which they were convicted. If they fail, the court can order these assets to be seized.