• Crown Prosecution Service launches blueprint for tackling serious organised and economic crime
• Equipping prosecutors with more skills and tools to keep pace with ever evolving criminal activity
• Strengthening the CPS contribution to national security, border security and disruption, including where organised crime intersects with terrorism and hostile state activity
• Deepening collaboration across law enforcement, government and international partners

More organised gangs, fraudsters and people smugglers are set to lose out as prosecutors target ill-gotten gains from the outset of a prosecution, the CPS has announced today (4 June 2026).

Prosecutors from across the organisation will now focus on putting asset recovery at the forefront of prosecution strategy, ensuring hard-earned money taken from victims and businesses is returned to them.

Prosecutors have already managed to recover more than £530 million from confiscation orders in the last five years, returning over £100million to victims of crime in the process.

It comes as the CPS launches new strategies to underpin how the organisation responds to serious organised crime and international threats for the rest of the decade.

The Serious Economic and Organised Crime (SEOC) Strategy 2030 and the International Strategy 2030 outline how the CPS will strengthen prosecutions, disrupt criminal networks and protect the public in a world where offenders increasingly use digital and cyber technologies for their illegal activities.

The strategies will enable prosecutors to keep pace with threats that cost the UK economy billions of pounds a year, and threaten to significantly impact the lives of victims in England and Wales.

The new strategies will also improve the CPS’s ability to target domestic criminals who have fled abroad, as well as prosecutors’ capacity to gather key evidence that stretches beyond the borders of England and Wales.

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said: “Our focus is on tackling crimes that cause the greatest harm to societies – including large-scale fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, organised immigration crime and modern slavery.

“We have a duty to ensure crime does not pay, and these strategies renew our emphasis on recovering criminal assets and removing financial incentives that drive organised crime.

“These crimes are growing increasingly sophisticated, they are technology‑enabled and international in reach.

“We are already responding to threats by strengthening specialist capability, working more closely with law enforcement from the outset of investigations, and making sure asset recovery is considered at an earlier stage in the prosecution process.

“Serious economic and organised crime is constantly changing, and we can’t afford for the CPS’s response to be static or want the CPS’s response to be ever evolving to stop these activities.”

The new strategies will bring:

Earlier and stronger prosecutions

Prosecutors will engage earlier with police and investigators to shape cases, identify the full scale of offending and improve outcomes.

Crime that does not pay

We prioritise asset recovery and financial disruption, targeting the profits that drive organised crime.

A focus on national and border security

The strategies strengthen the CPS role where organised crime overlaps with terrorism, hostile state activity and organised immigration crime.

Modernisation through exploring new technologies

Looking at ethical and responsible use of emerging technologies to improve how prosecutors manage large volumes of digital evidence, supporting more effective case preparation.

Stronger international cooperation

International considerations will become a routine part of case strategy, not a specialist afterthought.

Fraud and cybercrime affect millions of people every year, with online chatrooms and gaming platforms increasingly offering criminals the chance to target, and in some instances blackmail children and vulnerable people.

Modern slavery and people smuggling networks, which exploit and endanger lives both at home and abroad, are also set to face tougher prosecutions.

The CPS is committing to a stronger, more joined-up response to these crimes, working with international partners to pursue perpetrators wherever they operate.

Prosecutors will also be upskilled to handle the most complex cases with confidence, including new training on economic crime, modern slavery, firearms offences and more to ensure they understand the full breadth of modern offending.

The strategies also acknowledge a blurring of lines between organised crime, terrorism and hostile state activity, and sets out how the CPS will contribute to national and border security through early legal advice, disruption‑focused prosecution strategies and close collaboration with criminal justice partners.

The International Strategy 2030 reflects the reality that modern crime increasingly crosses borders, with evidence, victims, suspects and criminal assets often located overseas.

The strategy sets out how the CPS will embed international awareness across the organisation so that prosecutors are confident in identifying and managing international elements as part of everyday casework.

It also focuses on improving the speed and quality of international cooperation, making better use of technology and data, and ensuring international expertise is accessible across the CPS.

Beyond individual cases, the strategy outlines how the CPS will use its international insight to support other prosecution agencies, contribute to policy and legislative development, and strengthen partnerships with overseas prosecutors and international networks.