Assets Recovery Agency chiefs in Northern Ireland collected just £443,000 belonging to suspected criminals under investigation last year, it was revealed today.
High levels of legal scrutiny and delaying tactics by some of those whose financial affairs are being investigated have been blamed for settlements taking up to four years to complete.
Assets Recovery Agency interim director Alan McQuillan
Even though an estimated £14.5 million worth of assets were frozen by the High Court in Belfast last year, the amount of cash collected was only £443,000 - well short of the target of between £4.5 million and £7.5 million.
Assets Recovery Agency interim director Alan McQuillan, admitted it was a poor return for all their work.
He said: "We have to hold our hands up. The court process is slow, but the internal systems process needs to be speeded up. We can't just say its other people's fault. The figure is awful. We have to sort it out and we are."
Senior officers said today they had carried out an internal review of procedures in a bid to quicken the pace of the process.
PA