In an inquiry associated with the misdemeanours of West Belfast UDA, the Northern Ireland Police Service has put a hold on four bank accounts. This action was taken under an Account Freezing Order leveraged by detectives from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force (PCTF) with the assistance from officers of the Economic Crime Unit of the Police Service. The four accounts, all owned by one individual, held a combined amount of £41,428, as mentioned by the PSNI.
The decision is part of an ongoing probe into the illicit activities of the loyalist faction, temporarily freezing the funds for a span of six months initially. The Police have the power to freeze any bank or building society accounts if the account balances exceed £1,000, with suspicions that the funds might be criminal proceeds or are destined to aid illegal activities.
“The source of the frozen assets will be under investigation and if it is verified to stem from criminal activities, we will proceed to apply a forfeiture order on the funds”, stated a spokesperson from PSNI. He further added that the probe is still in process and urged the public to come forward with any information about these illicit activities by getting in touch with their detectives via 101. – PA