Concern over move to abolish North’s Assets Recovery Agency

The British government is to abolish the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) set up to target and seize the assets of criminals in the North.

The agency was modelled on the Criminal Assets Bureau in the Republic and has frozen or seized tens of millions of pounds worth of assets in the last four years.

However, it is now being merged with the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

It is unclear what will happen to the 50 staff who work at its Belfast offices.

The British government insists the ARA’s work will continue under the auspices of the SOCA, but the SDLP has expressed concern that the development could affect the detection and seizure of criminal assets.

It says the SOCA concentrates on the Mr Bigs of the criminal world rather than smaller criminals "whose activities are no less serious".