TD calls for a CAB revamp – and he claims seizures are ‘drop in ocean’
AN OPPOSITION party leader has called for a ‘fundamental revamp’ of the State agency tasked with targeting criminals’ wealth as new figures show a significant drop in seized assets.
Figures provided by Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirm the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has seized €135m worth of cash and assets since 2008.
However, the value of seized assets has fallen in recent years, suggesting criminals are finding more innovative ways of hiding their wealth.
In 2022, the CAB seized €5.2m worth of assets from criminals.
‘Nature and scale of crime has changed’
This was an increase on €3m seized in 2020, but lower than the €5.8m confiscated in 2020.
In 2019, figures soared to €65m, but the department said €55m of this related to a oneoff cryptocurrency seizure.
And the level of seizures in recent years is significantly lower than the high of just over €11m recorded in 2009.
The figures were provided in response to parliamentary queries from Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín. The Meath West TD told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘When it comes to the growing wealth of criminals, we are only scratching the surface.’
He cited a European study which indicates the State currently ‘seizes less than 1% of the funds generated by organised crime in any given year’.
Deputy Tóibín said the European Commission analysis showed organised crime in Ireland was worth ‘at least €1.7bn in 2017’. But according to data provided by the Department of Justice, just over €7m worth of criminals’ assets were seized during the same year.
He said: ‘CAB seized less than 1% of all the wealth created by crime in Ireland that year, and looking at the figures, this is not an outlier.’
The Aontú leader said: ‘The nature and scale of crime has changed exponentially since its [CAB] establishment three decades ago.
‘We now have a world where gangsters are international boxing promoters. This is a multinational industry scaled to multinational levels of revenue. We now trade on the internet rather than street corners and have cryptocurrencies.’
He said the figures show CAB seizures represent ‘considerably less than the tip of the iceberg of criminal assets generated in any given year’.
Mr Tóibín added: ‘This is a drop in the ocean, and we should not pretend that this provides any semblance of a disincentive to criminals.’
The Opposition TD also expressed concerns about the rate and speed of return of seized assets to communities hardest hit by crime. ‘There is a seven-year wait period before assets or cash seized by the CAB can be used by the State.
‘Given the level of dysfunction in the country at present, the wait period should be reduced, by way of legislation if necessary, so that we can tap into these funds and use it to build houses, to fund Garda resources, to counter crime and make communities safe again.’ Department of Justice figures show the amount of criminal assets returned to the State has fallen from €4.9m in 2012 to just €589,146 this year.
The total returned to the State since the formation of the CAB is just under €31m.
Minister McEntee said: ‘The Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime… and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs.’ A department spokesperson said fighting organised crime is a key priority for the Minister, adding: ‘Crime is a global enterprise for many organised crime gangs and some individuals cross borders... to evade justice. Serious crime does not respect international borders, and Ireland is working closely with other States.’