City of London Police Partners with Law Firm to Help Fraud Victims Recover Stolen Assets
Law enforcement authorities in the City of London are collaborating with international law firm Gowling WLG to launch a civil asset recovery program aimed at helping fraud victims recover their stolen assets.
The program will be available for select fraud cases where prosecution is either not feasible or viable.
This new initiative follows a successful pilot project, which assisted an elderly victim suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The victim was swindled out of more than £2 million ($2.58 million) in a cryptocurrency scam. The partnership is seen as a significant step toward offering justice and relief to victims of fraud, particularly in cases where criminal prosecution is not an option.
In a statement, the City of London Police highlighted the growing issue of fraud in the UK, noting that the country lost over £570 million ($735.58 million) to fraud in the first half of 2024 alone. The new civil asset recovery initiative aims to mitigate these losses and offer victims a chance to reclaim what was taken from them.
Bríd Holden, Director at Gowling WLG, expressed optimism about the partnership, saying, “We are hoping that working in collaboration with City of London Police will change the landscape and encourage more victims to report fraud, raising awareness generally.”
The program not only allows victims to recover their losses, but it also empowers civil asset recovery agents to target and seize the assets of organized crime groups (OCGs). This dual approach aims to provide financial relief to victims while combating the underlying criminal enterprises responsible for the fraud.
Detective Chief Inspector Craig Mullish from the City of London Police explained, “A judicial outcome in the form of a custodial sentence and/or conviction is the ideal outcome, however, it’s the lost money or assets that can have a lasting effect on victims. This trial with Gowling WLG is a positive initiative, which we hope will provide a clear process for victims in helping them take back what is owed to them.”
As fraud cases continue to rise in the UK, this partnership provides an innovative solution for victims seeking restitution, helping them navigate the complexities of asset recovery in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
