The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) has begun moving to seize the assets of murdered former UDA "brigadier" Jim Gray. It has frozen property and cash valued at £200,000 (€292,500) with further recoveries planned, according to ARA head Alan McQuillan.
Gray, who was murdered by former UDA colleagues outside his father's home in east Belfast last month, was nicknamed the "Brigadier of Bling" because of his penchant for gold jewellery and his flamboyant lifestyle.
This was reflected in the property frozen which included an 18-carat gold bracelet and a top-of-the-range BMW car. Other items which the High Court gave permission to freeze included a Northern Bank draft for €10,000 currently held by the PSNI, about £3,000 (€4,387) in cash, money held in bank accounts, the proceeds of several pensions and insurance policies and an interest in a house at Knockwood Park, Belfast.
The estimated net value of these assets after mortgages and other commitments is in the region of £100,000 (€146,270). The ARA, in obtaining the court order, argued that Gray's expenditure was substantially higher than his declared income, and that he derived his assets from criminal activity including terrorism, drugs and money-laundering.
Gray's sister, Elizabeth Gray, is also named in the freezing order in respect of a sum of around £23,000 (€33,600), held in a bank account in her name. The ARA has not alleged any wrongdoing on her part but has argued that this money was given to her by Jim Gray and represented the proceeds of crime.
"The PSNI referred this case to the agency and has worked closely with us to provide the information needed to convince the High Court that the assets should be frozen," said Mr McQuillan.
The ARA would be seeking to seize these as well as more of Gray's alleged criminal assets, he added. "This is only the first step in this investigation by ARA. We will now carry out further inquiries into the origins of the frozen assets and into the existence of any unidentified assets, with the intention of applying for a recovery order in due course."
Gray was shot dead in October while out on bail on money-laundering charges. He had fallen out with the UDA leadership and was dismissed as "brigadier" in east Belfast. Loyalist and security sources claimed that elements in the leadership ordered some of Gray's former colleagues to murder him so they could avoid a similar fate.
