Press release
Minister McEntee welcomes publication of new Strategic Plan for Criminal Assets Bureau
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice and Equality, Helen McEntee TD, has today welcomed the publication of the new Criminal Assets Bureau Strategic Plan for 2020 – 2023.
The Minister noted that this is the first publicly published strategic plan from the Bureau, and applauded this development.
The Minister said:
"This strategic plan represents a fitting handover from now-acting Assistant Commissioner Pat Clavin to the new Chief Bureau Officer, Chief Superintendent Michael Gubbins. Chief Superintendent Gubbins brings a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience from his previous roles in fighting cybercrime, money laundering and other serious criminal activities, and I look forward to him bringing his skills to bear on the important work of CAB."
The Minister went on, saying that:
"CAB's mission is to ensure that crime does not pay, and it does this in a most meaningful way, by going after the assets of persons involved in, or suspected to be involved in, illegal activity. Under legislation introduced in 2016, the threshold for invoking the Proceeds of Crime Act reduced from €13,000 to €5,000, significantly extending CAB's reach. Not only are CAB targeting the assets of higher-tier criminals, they are also having an impact by intervening early with mid-level criminals, with the aim of inhibiting their progression."
The strategic plan describes the structure of CAB and its key programmes of activity to deliver its remit. CAB has trained a nationwide network of asset profilers to identify assets acquired from the proceeds of criminal conduct. The Bureau continues to develop specialist expertise and technology to trace and investigate these assets. It also continues to work closely with international crime investigation agencies, and has successfully targeted proceeds of foreign criminality from countries such as the US and the UK.
Minister McEntee praised the multi-disciplinary structure of the Bureau, saying that:
"The CAB model illustrates how bringing together talented people, from across Government, under the right structures, can deliver powerful results for the national good. The Bureau is an example of international best practise in law enforcement and demonstrates how we, as a country, can face up to our shared challenges."
To read the full Criminal Assets Bureau Strategic Plan for 2020 – 2023, go to: www.gov.ie/en/publication/657f4-criminal-assets-bureau-strategic-plan-2020-2023.
ENDS
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.
CAB's budget for 2020 has been increased to a total of €9.1 million.