(Jamaica Gleaner) Just under J$1 billion in cash and other assets were confiscated primarily from drug dealers and persons involved in the lottery scam last year, the Financial Investigations Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance has revealed.
Statistics released through the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) yesterday show that over the 12-month period, the FID seized 43 real estate properties, including houses and lands, valued at J$588 million; 38 motor vehicles valued at J$90 million; bank accounts and monetary instruments valued at J$30 million and furniture and fittings valued at J$3.5 million.
The assets were confiscated using the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and one FID insider told The Gleaner yesterday that they are being held by the State pending the outcome of a number of civil cases.
“The restraint prevents them (the assets) from being sold, transferred or in any way disposed of by an individual until these cases are completed,” the FID insider explained.
However, the Government was able to keep more than J$43 million in United States, British and Jamaican currencies that were seized by the FID over the same 12-month period.
The FID insider, while refusing to give details, said a majority of the real estate properties seized were located in a number of upscale communities in Kingston, Montego Bay and along the north coast.
The number and value of the assets confiscated by the FID last year exceeded 2010 when it seized 10 properties valued at J$185 million and 33 vehicles valued at J$85 million.
The FID was established in 2007 after POCA was passed into law, giving law-enforcement authorities the power to go after the proceeds of criminal activities.
