Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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360. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which the Criminal Assets Bureau has achieved success against organised crime in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42815/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As you will be aware, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.  The Bureau’s remit is to target a person's assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.

The Bureau is widely regarded as a best practice model in the context of combating organised crime.  It works closely with law enforcement bodies at national and international levels to pursue the illicit proceeds of organised crime activity. The actions of the Bureau send a strong message to criminals and to local communities that profiting from crime will not be tolerated.

Currently the Bureau is conducting investigations into individuals and Organised Criminal Groups involved in the following types of crime:

- Sale and Supply of Controlled Drugs

- Burglaries, Theft, Fraud

- Stolen vehicles

- Stolen and counterfeit vehicle parts

- Various offences related to the used car motor trade

- Sale of encrypted devices to criminal groups

- International Mail Fraud scam

- Ghost Motor Insurance Brokers

- Insurance Fraud

- Bogus Tradesmen involved in defrauding the vulnerable and elderly, particularly in relation to house repairs, roofing and tarring driveways

- Prostitution

- People Smuggling/Human Trafficking

- Fuel Smuggling

- Illegal Tobacco Trade

- Illegal Dumping

- Extortion, Blackmail, False Imprisonment and Harassment

Since its establishment in 1996, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is recognised as a world leader in asset investigations, tracing and forfeiture.  As a part of its prescribed statutory function, it currently provides national and international assistance and education to other law enforcement / regulatory agencies and State bodies, including the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) of the United States of America, the AFP (Australian Federal Police) and the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets derived from Corruption and Other Crime.

The Bureau is included as a member in two Joint Investigation Teams (JIT’s) since 2019, established in accordance with Article 20 of the Second Additional Protocol of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

With regard to the details of the activities of the Bureau, these are reported on each year in its Annual Report. These Annual Reports can be found at www.cab.ie.

The 2019 Annual Report was published by the Department of Justice and Equality and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 25 June 2020.