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A judge has criticised prosecutors after he was forced to delay seizing the assets of a London crime boss who has flouted justice for seven years.
District Judge Quentin Purdy reacted angrily at City of Westminster magistrates court yesterday after he had to postpone judgment on whether to send Raymond May, 53, to jail for non-payment of a £4.1million court order.
The judge added that with "considerable reluctance and irritation" he was agreeing to an adjournment after the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office submitted new documents hours before the hearing.
Describing the hold-up as "disturbing", the judge said it was entirely the fault of prosecutors - whose excuses were "nonsense".
He warned that as a result Parliament's desire that action should be taken to deprive criminals of their profits was not being fulfilled. May was convicted at the Old Bailey in September 2001 for his part in a £12million VAT racket involving computer processing chips.
He was sentenced to four years and freed in 2003. After a separate hearing in 2002 he was given a £3.26million confiscation order. Interest on the outstanding amount means he now owes £4.1million.
Further allegations about May's background as a "professional criminal" who had built a "criminal empire" involving armed robbery, drug importation and money laundering were presented to a judge. He has not faced charges on these allegations.
May's assets listed at the time of his conviction include a house in Bromley now worth £2.25million, several other properties and a yacht.
He has also travelled to destinations including Miami, Seattle, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus and spent £44,000 on private school fees.
