A CO ARMAGH haulage company owner yesterday agreed to hand over a helicopter and more than £2 million sterling in cash to the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Mark McKinney (44) and his wife Beverley (46) are also to forfeit their home in Northern Ireland and a luxury Spanish villa, a fleet of high-performance cars, a boat and personalised number plates.
The couple, of Woodlands Manor, Portadown, signed a High Court consent order to settle a three-year case brought under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency’s predecessors in the Assets Recovery Agency had claimed that Mr McKinney, who runs MMK International Ltd, had accumulated wealth through unlawful conduct. But ahead of a trial set to last for six weeks, Mr Justice Morgan was told yesterday that a deal had been reached.
Under the terms of the settlement property, bank accounts and vehicles are to be recovered, including a caravan currently berthed in Kilkeel, property in Portadown, an Augusta Spa helicopter, a Bayliner Capri boat and a number of cars, among them a Mercedes, a Hummer, a Bentley Continental, and a Jaguar.
With the order coming into force on Monday morning, all property will remain frozen until then. Following the settlement, David Armond of the Serious Organised Crime Agency said the agency was determined to ensure crime did not pay.
He said: “Together with our partners we are using civil recovery powers and closing the net on all those who attempt to profit from their criminal activities.”
Mr McKinney declared his intention to continue expanding his business and provide jobs.
He said: “I am pleased that these civil proceedings have been brought to a satisfactory conclusion with my reputation and the future of the company secured.”