Departmental Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024

Tuesday, 9 April 2024

Questions (835)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

835. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the monetary value of assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau in each of the past 15 years and to date in 2024. [13779/24]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As 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’s remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, 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 and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.

Under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible for the administration and business of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Under the Act, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána for these functions. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these functions.

I am advised by CAB that the table below outlines the monetary value of assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau for the years 2008 – 2022. The figures for 2023 and 2024 have not yet been compiled and will be outlined in the CAB Annual Reports for 2023 and 2024 respectively.   

Year	Section 2 Interim Orders EURO	Section 2 Interim Orders STERLING	Section 2 Interim Orders US DOLLARS
2008	5,022,050.89	4,860.00
2009	11,012,543.00	20,630.00	760,051.86
2010	7,019,475.88	63,535.00
2011	5,384,559.73	6,725.00
2012	2,110,334.78
2013	2,821,302.00
2014	6,760,182.00
2015	941,078.59
2016	643,063.07
2017	7,020,539.20
2018	8,263,582.30
2019	64,985,550.30
2020	5,814,206.00
2021	3,068,051.74
2022	5,184,599.00

The large increase in 2019 is due to the granting of a freezing order over cryptocurrency to the value of €53,023,140.