The Government is amending the Proceeds of Crime Act to include provision for confiscating proceeds of crimes committed outside the State, writes Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Correspondent
This follows the Supreme Court judgment yesterday that the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) was not entitled to seize property in this State bought with the proceeds of crime committed in the UK or elsewhere.
The case was brought by a man who had had a lengthy criminal career in the UK, including road traffic offences, assault, handling stolen goods, robbery, suborning members of a jury, and possession of controlled drugs and of firearms. He purchased a house in Co Wicklow for £128,000 in late 1988 or early 1989, which was transferred to his partner for a nominal sum.
The CAB brought an application to the High Court under the criminal assets legislation for the freezing of the property. That was challenged in the Supreme Court. Responding to yesterday's judgment, a spokeswoman for the Minister for Justice said: "The issue of extra-territoriality/foreign criminality is one of a number of issues for which provisions are being currently drafted in the context of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill as part of a series of amendments to bolster the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau."
Other issues to be dealt with in the amending legislation include providing for CAB to bring applications in its own name, rather than that of a senior Garda officer; removal of doubt about ownership or control of property in certain circumstances; and the variation of freezing orders for purposes such as the enforcement of taxes or court orders.
The Second Stage of the Bill was concluded in 2000, but it was not progressed pending the outcome of court challenges to the 1996 Act. Following the conclusion of these cases, a number of other proposals are contained in the Bill. These includes provision for the service of proceedings outside the State, and the proposal to extend the application of the Act to the proceeds of crimes committed in other jurisdictions.