On 12 October 2016, the Court of Appeal refused permission for convicted fraudster Sean Martin Doherty to appeal a High Court Order to hand over his £460,000 North London property to the NCA.

James represented the NCA in December 2015, when it successfully obtained a Recovery Order for possession of a flat in Princess Road, Kilburn, valued at approximately £460,000 with only around £30,000 outstanding on the mortgage, on the basis that it had been obtained from the proceeds of crime. The Court determined that it had been acquired in 1998 for £55,000 using a fraudulent mortgage, bought using a false identity, supported by a fictitious reference and fictitious declarations of income and that even the deposit was from unlawful conduct.

Doherty applied to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal the High Court decision but this was finally refused on the 12th October 2016, meaning that the property will remain in the NCA’s hands.

Read the NCA's full article of the case here.