Criminal Assets Bureau
The Criminal Assets Bureau is Ireland’s agency established in 1996 as a Statutory Body pursuant to the Criminal Assets Bureau Act, 1996 that forms part of the National Support Services Branch. It is a division of the Garda SÃochána, however, it annually reports to the Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform.
The Bureau was established because of increasing volumes of serious organised crime in Ireland, prompted by the murder of crime reporter Veronica Guerin and Garda Jerry McCabe. In 2005, the powers of the Bureau were extended to include corruption and organised crime committed outside the country.
The objective of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is the identification of assets derived or suspected to derive from criminal activity (for example, money laundered as a result of drug trafficking or fraud), either directly or indirectly.
The work of the Bureau has been very effective, and it is marked with numerous of seizures of illegally obtained assets. Thanks to its operations, major criminal figures have been displaced; many of them have left the jurisdiction because of being under the Bureau’s attentive eye. The CAB has locates persons involved in organised crime and through Court proceedings freezes or confiscates assets and wealth.
To identify, trace and seize illegal assets, the Criminal Assets Bureau closely works with its European and international partners.
In first 10 years of operation, the Criminal Assets Bureau collected EUR 89 million in taxes and engaged in important initiatives to curtail international criminality.