Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1467.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality amount seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), and the monetary value of assets seized by the CAB, in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [31245/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1468.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount returned to the Exchequer by the Criminal Assets Bureau, including money made from the sale or auction of assets, in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [31246/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1467 and 1468 together.

As the Deputy 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.

Under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible for the administration and business of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Under the Act, the Chief Bureau Officer is responsible to the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána for these functions. As Minister for Justice, I have no direct role in these functions.

However, I intend to publish legislation in the coming months to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau. The General Scheme of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2024 has been approved by Government, and pre-legislative scrutiny was undertaken by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice. My Department received the pre-legislative scrutiny report in May 2024 and this report has been published by the Committee. I look forward to progressing this Bill, which will enhance the current regime and allow confiscation to be effected more quickly.

I am advised by CAB that the table below outlines the monetary value of financial assets (money seized and monies frozen in financial institutions) seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau for the years 2012 – 2022. The Criminal Assets Bureau did not record monetary value by asset type prior to 2012.

The large increase in 2019 is due to the granting of a freezing order over cryptocurrency to the value of €53,023,140.

I am also advised by CAB that the table below outlines the amount in monetary value returned to the Exchequer by CAB for the years 2008 to 2022.

The figures for 2023 and 2024 will be outlined in the CAB Annual Reports, respectively, which you will be able to find at the following link once published www.cab.ie/annual-reports/