UK crime assets body admits falling behind

LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) A government agency set up by Prime Minister Tony Blair to confiscate the assets of criminals acknowledged today it was falling behind after figures showed it was recovering less money than it costs to run.

The Assets Recovery Agency blamed longer than expected legal procedures for the slow pace of receipts -- just over 8 million pounds since starting operations in 2003 -- compared to running costs of just under 20 million pounds a year.

Conservative MP Grant Shapps, who obtained the figures in parliamentary questions, blamed the agency's failings on the government's incorporation of human rights laws into British legislation.

He said the laws had opened the door for the legal delays dogging the agency's attempts to recover nearly 70 million pounds of criminal assets subject to freezing orders.

''Applying a freeze is one thing -- selling off the proceeds of crime for the benefit of the public is quite another,'' said Shapps.

In the last year the agency contributed just 2.75 million pounds to the 83 million pounds of assets confiscated by police, customs and other law enforcement bodies.

Jane Earl, director of the agency, told BBC radio it was taking longer than originally expected to get hold of the frozen funds.

''The time taken to get a case from being referred to us by a law enforcement agency to completion ... is longer than we had hoped for,'' she said.

''We are sorry that is the case.'' Earl said the agency was dealing with new legislation in difficult areas but that it would not give up in its pursuit of criminal money.

''We are continuing to litigate extensively, we are fighting off every legal challenge that is put to us and so far I am delighted to say we have won all of those -- but they do take time in the normal civil legal system,'' she said.

The agency was set up under the 2002 Proceeds of Crime act to help disrupt organised crime gangs by removing their funds and sources of income.

REUTERS CH PC1601