Criminals have dodged more than £25 million in fines imposed by Scottish courts since the SNP came to power, according to new figures that the Conservatives called an “insult” to victims.

The figures, obtained from the Scottish Court Service (SCS), showed arrears of £21.5 million have been built up since 2008 thanks to offenders not paying.

But the Tories said this did not include another £3.5 million that the authorities regard as “archived” because the money is unlikely to ever be recovered.

It also emerged that some of Scotland’s wealthiest criminals have failed to pay £5.3 million that was supposed to be confiscated from them for being the proceeds of crime.

The SCS and SNP ministers said that fine collection rates had improved and would get better once officials are able to access Department for Work and Pensions records.

Read the Full Article: Source – The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/11319741/Scottish-criminals-dodge-25-million-of-fines.html