Greater Manchester Police specialist unit launches week of action against economic crime

Consisting of dedicated resources deployed to prevent fraud and target those suspected of committing crimes such as money laundering, the team aims to make Greater Manchester a safer place.

Det Supt Paul Copplestone of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “In our unit we have a number of teams who are dedicated in their robust approach to tackling economic crime.

“The team uses a variety of options which is available to us from the Proceeds of Crime Act, including cash seizure powers, listed asset powers and bank account freezing orders.

"We have been preparing for this week of action for the last month, and a substantial amount of work has gone into ensuring we are doing all we can to tackle economic crime.

“In the last tax year, the unit saw over £15m forfeited from criminals, which was a massive accomplishment for us and one of the best years we have had in the unit, this year we are hoping to surpass this and continue on an upward trend with money recovery.

“Our officers and staff work hard to recover criminal finances and this work does not go unnoticed and will undoubtedly continue to help make Greater Manchester a safer place.

“We will use the week of action as opportunity to show to the public that we are robust and relentless in tackling economic crime from officers our money laundering team who are proactive in dealing with the movement of illicit finances to our prevention officers and teams of volunteers who are always out and about hosting crime prevention stalls and workshops to ensure we are providing the right advice to our public.

"Taking away money and assets from criminals does have a substantial impact on criminality – it targets them where it hurts most - their pockets.

"I hope through this week, we can show the public that whilst tackling fraud and economic crime remains a relentless task, we will continue to work hard to bring those involved in criminal behaviour to justice, and ensure that crime doesn't pay."

Activity that has been happening can be found on the GMP website and various social media pages.