GREATER Manchester Police (GMP) recovered more cash and assets from criminals last year, new figures have revealed.

Home Office data shows GMP collected proceeds of crime worth £6.3m in the year to March.

Of this, £4.1m (65 per cent) was obtained through confiscation orders, which are made during sentencing following a criminal conviction.

The rest came from powers to seize and confiscate cash via civil proceedings.

The haul was slightly higher than the value seized in 2018-19, when officers recovered £6m.

Financial investigations manager Graeme Wallis from the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Economic Crime Team said: "The effective use of the Proceeds of Crime Act by GMP is a key tool in our fight against organised crime.

"Not only does it remove ill-gotten gains from those involved in unlawful activity, it also has a disruptive effect on crime as it takes away any opportunity for assets to be re-invested into further criminality.

"We should also remember the positive impact this legislation has on law abiding members of our community who are keen to see not only that the offenders are prosecuted, but the proceeds of their offending are confiscated.

"This enables victims to be compensated, and help keep our local communities safe, whether this is through supporting community projects, issuing crime prevention materials and much more.

"If that investment can stop one young person being drawn into a life of crime, or create a safe space to reduce isolation, then it’s been worthwhile."

Around £208m was collected by police forces, councils and government agencies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland using powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act in 2019-20 – a four per cent decrease from the year before, but up eight per cent compared to five years ago.

Anti-corruption organisation Global Witness warned the £200m recovered nationally is "a drop in the ocean" compared with the huge volumes of illegal money flowing through the UK each year.

Dominic Kavakeb, of Global Witness, said: “These latest statistics really are a drop in the ocean compared with the billions in illicit wealth flooding the UK.

"It shows how much work there is still to do in the fight against dirty money, starting with the long-awaited property register that can bring transparency to the UK’s property market – for years a top choice for criminals and the corrupt looking to launder stolen cash.”

The Government unveiled new measures to clamp down on corruption in 2018, including the creation of Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) – which give authorities the power to demand a person or company explain where their cash or assets came from.

To date, the National Crime Agency has obtained UWOs on four cases with a total asset value estimated at just over £143m.

In the year to March, £208m was also frozen in more than 800 bank and building society accounts – up significantly from £95m the year before.

The National Economic Crime centre, based at the NCA's headquarters, also launched two years ago with the aim of bringing together police and government bodies to combat economic crime, including money laundering and fraud.

An NCA spokeswoman said: “The National Crime Agency froze or seized £160m in suspected criminal assets during the last year alone, and we continue to use all of our powers, in both the criminal and civil spheres, to disrupt criminals and corrupt elites by recovering the proceeds of their criminality.”