The head of the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) in the North is to become its director throughout the UK.
Alan McQuillan, a former PSNI assistant chief constable and an acting deputy chief constable, takes over the agency, which is the equivalent of the Criminal Assets Bureau, at the end of April.
The ARA is to be amalgamated into the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). According to British government proposals this merger will extend to prosecutors the power to launch civil recovery action under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Government plans could be completed by the end of 2008.
Mr McQuillan joined the agency on its first day of operation in 2003 and was initially appointed as the assistant director for Northern Ireland. Last April his role was extended and he was appointed deputy director responsible for all the agency's operational functions across the UK.
He has 27 years' experience as a police officer in Northern Ireland and Wales and applied to be chief constable of the PSNI, losing out to Sir Hugh Orde.
The North's security minister, who also chairs the Organised Crime Taskforce, welcomed the appointment. Paul Goggins said: "I am delighted to learn of Alan McQuillan's appointment. [ It] is not only good news for the agency as a whole but will also increase confidence in assets recovery in Northern Ireland. It will ensure that the good work and expertise that has been built up over the past four years will remain unabated."
He said the appointment underlines the British government's commitment to assets recovery and expressed confidence that the proposed merger with SOCA would be seamless.