The Assets Recovery Agency in Northern Ireland has recovered less than £63,000 (€96,000) from murdered loyalist Jim Gray.
The extravagant lifestyle of the former UDA leader left him living on credit when he was shot in October 2005 outside his father's home, allegedly by his UDA colleagues. Mr Gray was on bail for money-laundering charges at the time.
Mr Gray, who had been expelled from the UDA, was known as "Doris Day" because of his love of pink jumpers and extravagant clothing.
Alan McQuillan, deputy director of the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), said: "Mr Gray was a notorious figure in the UDA and in organised crime in Belfast. Many people will be surprised to see the low value of the money recovered in this case, but the reason is simple - while Mr Gray led a flamboyant lifestyle, our investigation showed that, at the end, this was really all that was left.
"Mr Gray had significant debts, was largely living on credit and was spending freely. In the end there was nothing more to recover.
"This is another example of ARA's unique powers to remove the proceeds of crime. We are using these powers firmly and fairly to make sure crime does not pay."
Mr Gray's assets were originally estimated at £200,000. They included an interest in a house and a BMW car. A bank draft, money held in a number of bank accounts and the proceeds of several pensions and insurance policies were frozen at the time.
The agency told the court that the east Belfast brigadier's expenditure was higher than his declared income and that he had obtained assets from criminal activities including terrorism, drugs and money laundering.