Today, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is marking 25 years since it was established.
The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is an independent statutory body, established on the 15th of October 1996 by the enactment of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.
The establishment of the Bureau followed the murders of Detective Garda Jerry Mc Cabe and Journalist Veronica Guerin in June 1996. The Bureau is a key part of the armoury of the State in tackling criminal activity, in particular serious and organised criminal activity, through depriving persons of their ill-gotten gains and disrupting the resources available to support criminal activity.
The CAB set up to deny and deprive people of the proceeds of their criminal conduct by the enactment of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.
It began with a modest budget allocation which met the needs of the Bureau in the initial stages and substantially increased over the course of the last 25 years as the demands of the Bureau evolved. Likewise, the number of staff within the Bureau has grown during this period in response to increased demand.
The Divisional Asset Profiler Network began in 2004 with just 25 Divisional Assets Profilers trained; this number has now risen to 553 across the country. As a result of this, there has been an increase in Targets both nationally and internationally. The value of Proceeds of Crime cases increased from 6 in 1996 to 31 in 2020 resulting in the remittance of approximately €5 million to the Exchequer.
Revenue and Social Welfare collections also increased dramatically over the 25 years recovering in excess of €161 million in tax collections and in excess of €5 million in social welfare recoveries. The evolution of criminal assets saw in 2015, CAB’s first seizure of Bitcoin.
The Criminal Assets Bureau continues to upgrade and enhance the training needs of Bureau Officers and staff. In September 2020, the Bureau commenced, in conjunction with the University of Limerick, the Proceeds of Crime & Asset Investigation Course (POCAI).
The Criminal Assets Bureau depends greatly on Good Citizens Reports. The Bureau is interested in any information in respect of unexplained wealth, which is suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal activity.
The Bureau can be contacted at info@cab.ie or through their social media pages or by calling +353 1 6663266.
Further information on the establishment, growth and successes of the Criminal Assets Bureau can be found here: Establishment, growth and successes of the Criminal Assets Bureau over 25 years.
– 15 October 1996 CAB established following enactment of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996
– Since its establishment CAB has denied and deprived criminal’s of approximately €199m
– Budget allocation of CAB in 1996 – IRL£830,000 (€1.053m) V budget allocation of CAB in 2020 – €9.961m (845% increase in 25 years)
– Staff allocation in 1996 – (31) V staff allocation in 2020 – (99)
– CAB Profiler Network began in 2004 with 25 Divisional Asset Profilers V 553 to date.
– 1,851 Targets nationally and internationally (figure includes 35 living outside of Ireland)
– 6 new Proceeds of Crime cases brought before the High Court in 1996 valued at IRL£2.101m (€2.668m) V 31 new POC cases brought before the High Court in 2020 with a value of €5.814m
– Over 25 years Revenue Bureau Officers have collected in excess of €161.4m
– Over 25 years Social Welfare Bureau Officers have recovered in excess of €5.03m
– 2015 saw CAB’s first Cryptocurrency seizure
– September 2020 saw the commencement of the CAB Proceeds of Crime & Asset Investigation course in conjunction with the University of Limerick
– CAB depends greatly on Good Citizen’s Reports
