A MAN suspected by the National Crime Agency (NCA) of involvement in serious organised crime has been ordered by a court to explain the source of funds used to build a property in Northern Ireland.
The NCA secured the first ever Unexplained Wealth Order in Northern Ireland at the High Court in Belfast on Friday as part of an ongoing NCA civil recovery investigation.
The order compels the man and his wife to explain the source of funds used to construct the property in Co. Armagh, which is worth approximately £275,000.
NCA investigators believe the man, who is now resident in the Republic, has connections to paramilitary activity, cigarette smuggling and money laundering.
“This is a significant milestone in the fight against criminal finance in Northern Ireland,” said Suzanne Foster, Head of Asset Denial at the NCA.
“With the first Unexplained Wealth Order granted here, we continue to show that the NCA will use all the tools available to us to target those we believe are involved in serious crime, whoever and wherever they are.
“To get to this stage we have had to overcome significant legal challenges, and we can now continue to investigate the source of these funds.”
The order is the first ever obtained in Northern Ireland since the introduction of the provisions of the Criminal Finances Act 2017, which came into force in the North in June 2021.
It follows a number of legal challenges in the High Court by the defendant’s Senior Counsel, including an unsuccessful challenge to the legal standing of the NCA in Northern Ireland.