The financial return to the State arising from the activities of the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) dipped by more than €2 million last year, the Cabinet will be told on Tuesday.
The bureau provided just over €14.9 million to the exchequer through its work seizing and selling assets deemed to be the proceeds of crime, as well as other functions, down from €17 million in 2024.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan will brief the Cabinet on Tuesday on the bureau’s annual report. It shows that Cab last year sold 18 forfeited properties, with gross sales amounting to €4.4 million, while it conducted 37 search operations, exceeding its performance delivery target of 35.
It generated just under €10.8 million from activities associated with the Revenue Commissioners and €655,543 from social protection linked activities.
RM Block
The bureau missed a number of its performance delivery targets last year, meeting 10 of the 15 it had been set. The report notes that Cab is focusing on “more complex and lengthier investigations”.
For example, it fell short of its target of submitting 25 proceeds of crime files. Its report argues that of the 23 files submitted, “many were of a larger, more complex nature, thus contributing to the reduction”, adding that the number of files submitted can fluctuate from year to year due to the complexity of cases.
The bureau froze 137 assets under powers granted under the Proceeds of Crime Act during the year, with these having a total value of €10.2 million, down from €12.6 million in 2024.
The most valuable category of frozen assets last year was real estate, accounting for almost €7.7 million of the total, up from €1.4 million in 2024.
The value of financial assets, meanwhile, declined sharply, coming in at a little over €1.9 million last year, down from almost €10.9 million in 2024. Cab argued that the value of assets fluctuates on an annual basis and is case dependent.
The report also details the price of assets sold at Cab’s third public auction, which included 135 lots of luxury items, watches, jewellery and designer goods. These included a 1oz Krugerrand gold bullion coin sold for €3,700, and 18 designer watches sold for a total of €156,870.
Watch models sold at auction included an Audemars Piquet 18ct Rose Gold Royal Oak (€38,020) and a gold gent’s Rolex (€21,060).
In a statement, O’Callaghan commended the bureau, saying the return to the exchequer was “hugely significant”.
“Organised crime is driven by money and the harder we can make it to obtain, launder and keep the money, the weaker these organised crime groups become,” he said.
