Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
430. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Justice the amount of cash seized by gardaí on proceeds of crime legislation in the years of 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023; the amount of cash seized that was returned to the Exchequer in each of the years in question, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29151/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act, 1996. The Bureau has staff drawn from An Garda Síochána, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (including Customs), the Department of Social Protection and my Department.
The Bureau’s remit is to target the assets, wherever situated, of persons which derive or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction – disrupting the activities of criminal gangs through the removal of their ill-gotten gains - and has been recognised as a world leader in asset investigations, tracing and forfeiture.
The Bureau works closely with Gardaí and all law enforcement agencies at national and international levels and continues to focus its efforts on targeting assets deriving from all types of criminal conduct. The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005 makes provision for the Bureau to seize assets that were generated in foreign jurisdictions. This Act enables the Bureau to cooperate fully with other international asset recovery agencies.
I am advised that all monies seized by CAB are remitted to the Central Fund of the Exchequer after the appropriate statutory time frame under the Proceeds of Crime Acts (currently seven years must elapse from date of seizure to remittance to the Exchequer). Therefore, assets (including cash) seized in a given year are not remitted to the Exchequer in that year. Additionally, legal challenges may also extend the length of time from asset seizure to disposal and remittance.
I am advised by the Bureau that figures relating to asset recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Acts by CAB for the years 1996 to 2021 are available publicly in the annual reports published on the Bureau's website:
www.cab.ie/annual-reports/
To be of assistance to the Deputy, the Bureau have advised that the following figures relate to the assets and cash seized by the Bureau under Section 2 and Section 3 of the Proceeds of Crime Acts in 2021, 2022 and to 13 June 2023.
|
YEAR |
AMOUNT |
|
2021 |
€3,068,528 |
|
2022* |
€5,184,599 |
|
2023* |
€510,836 |
|
TOTAL |
€8,763,963 |
The below figures provided by the Bureau show the monies remitted to the Exchequer under the Proceeds of Crime Acts in 2021, 2022 and to 13 June 2023.
|
YEAR |
AMOUNT |
|
2021 |
€5,549,661 |
|
2022* |
€2,065,265 |
|
2023* |
€361,350 |
|
TOTAL |
€7,976,276 |
*These figures are operational, provisional and subject to change pending publication of the CAB annual reports for 2022 and 2023.
