David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on recent statistics on white collar crime and the trends in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24813/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The figures published by the Central Statistics Office for the first quarter of 2008 show a decrease of 18.6% in the number of fraud, deception and related offences when compared with the same quarter last year. However, they also show an increase of 17.1% in such offences year-on-year. In response to this trend, one of the policing priorities for the Garda Síochána for 2008, which were set by my predecessor under section 20 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, is to focus on high value white-collar crime, particularly that of trading in contraband goods.

The Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (GBFI) investigates fraud on a national basis, principally dealing with the more complex of cases. The primary objective of the GBFI is to investigate serious cases of commercial fraud, cheque and credit card fraud, computer fraud, money laundering offences and counterfeit currency; to collate information and intelligence and act as a resource centre on fraud related matters; and to play a pro-active role in the prevention and detection of fraud. The Bureau maintains extensive liaison with the business and commercial sectors of the community, in addition to all the relevant regulatory agencies within the State. There is a wide range of fraud prevention advice available on the website of An Garda Síochána covering areas such as ATM fraud, identity theft, counterfeit currency and unsolicited emails.

I am informed that An Garda Síochána has received complaints from members of the public relating to fraudulent withdrawals from their bank accounts. The offences are committed using a technique known as phishing, the theft or attempted theft of personal information using e-mail and bogus web-sites. The act of phishing constitutes a number of offences contained in the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.

I am further informed that a number of persons have been prosecuted on charges of theft offences relating to phishing incidents where the proceeds of fraudulent withdrawals have been transferred to an apparently legitimate account which has been used to facilitate the withdrawal of the stolen funds. An Garda Síochána is working with the banking industry to counteract this phenomenon. A High-Tech Crime Forum has been established with all relevant stakeholders including An Garda Síochána and the financial services Industry, including the banking sector. This forum facilitates the rapid dissemination of information related to phishing and other methods being used in an attempt to compromise banking services.

The EU Money Laundering Directive (2005/60/EC) increases the obligations on financial and credit institutions and a range of other designated persons in relation to combating money laundering and anti-terrorist financing. The Bill, which has received Government approval, is currently being drafted following an in-depth consultation process with relevant and interested parties. My Department and the Garda authorities will continue to keep developments in this area under review.