An anti-crime body managed criminal assets with an estimated total value of €9.5 million in 2023.

In its latest annual report, the Asset Recovery Bureau said drug-related crimes continue to be the most prevalent offences, followed by money-laundering linked to other criminal activities.

The bureau can confiscate assets from people suspected of having acquired them from the proceeds of crime.

Fraud offences were also prevalent during the reporting year, together with a range of other offences including criminal organisation, human trafficking, computer misuses and bribery.

The ARB reported that plans to move to a new high-security facility in Ħal Far for storing criminal assets hit a hitch in 2023.

Plans to move to a new high-security facility in Ħal Far for storing criminal assets hit a hitch in 2023

“Toxic material” was discovered during clearance work on the site, triggering the need for expert advice and consultation with the environment watchdog ERA.

The ARB said the discovery had delayed the whole project as the excavation works on the site could not get under way before the said toxic material is removed from the site.

Various samples were taken and analysed, resulting in a huge amount of contaminated material that could not be disposed of appropriately like normal construction waste, the bureau said.

An independent adviser engaged by the bureau provided a treatment plan on how to neutralise the toxic chemicals and export the material abroad, which would cost “less than €2 million”, the report says.

Plans for the futuristic facility were announced by then justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis in 2021.