Please see the below table for the requested information.

For clarity, please note that a large amount in part refers to one Operation. In addition, the request asks for “assets frozen”, but then only asks for Account Freezing Orders and Account Forfeiture Orders which limits the response to only bank/building society account balances. There are other powers used to seize, freeze and forfeit other assets. 

With regard to the nationalities of those seized from, thirteen are businesses, so no nationality information is available. Of the others, twelve are British, one Chinese, two Czech, one Hungarian, one Portuguese, one Scottish and six have not commented on their nationality. Please note that more than one order may apply to a singular party.

West Yorkshire Police are committed to tackling fraud and where there is evidence to support this, bringing those offenders to justice. Charging decisions are made in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service, who make the decision to charge based on the strength of the evidence available and whether they believe there is a realistic prospect of a prosecution. Due to the nature of the crimes and complexities often involved, these matters often take significant investigation. We also work hard to support victims of these despicable crimes and will use any remedies available to seek justice for these victims, though it is not always the case that these are traditional criminal justice outcomes.