CAB sells seized properties in Cavan and Monaghan

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) sold 20 properties last year- including several in counties Cavan and Monaghan- following investigations which determined they were the proceeds of crime.

It marks the highest number of property disposals by the agency in any single year since its establishment in 1996, following the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.

Among the local assets sold were two vacant properties in Cavan and Monaghan linked to two alleged leading figures in a Drogheda-based organised crime gang. A court order allowing their sale was secured in 2023. Both were described in submissions made as being in a state of disrepair and unfit for habitation.

In total, the 20 properties sold by CAB last year generated more than €4.9 million for the Exchequer. They included the former Dublin home of Kinahan Organised Crime Group leader Daniel Kinahan, which fetched over €930,000.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom detached house in the private gated Coldwater Lakes estate in Saggart sold for €380,000 above the asking price.

Other CAB sales during the year included houses and land in Donegal, Kildare, Longford, Carlow, Kerry, Tipperary, Clare, and Limerick, as well as an apartment in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote, which sold for €155,000.

In total, over €17 million was returned to the Exchequer last year, comprising €3.1 million under the Proceeds of Crime legislation, €500,000 in recovered social welfare payments, and €13.3 million in tax on criminal profits.

One unnamed corporate entity also paid more than €5.5 million in tax.

CAB officers conducted 227 searches across 13 counties, seizing cash, luxury vehicles, and high-value designer items including clothing and jewellery. Two public auctions were held, generating more than €500,000.

In Cavan, CAB also dismantled and seized property belonging to a convicted criminal following a successful High Court application under the Proceeds of Crime Acts 1996.

The investigation was initiated after a referral from a Western Region asset profiler.

The previous year, CAB froze €115,000 in a bank account and seized three Rolex watches during searches at a Cavan property, assisted by members of the North Western Region Detective Branch, uniformed gardaí, the Regional Armed Response Unit, and the Customs Dog Unit. Items confiscated included designer clothing, Canada Goose jackets, Louis Vuitton bags, €4,480 in cash, documentation, and electronic devices.

Head of CAB, Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Gubbins, noted in the bureau’s annual report that much of the organisation’s success is “non-measurable,” as it disrupts criminal networks, curtails money laundering, and weakens the influence and power bases of organised crime figures.

Separately, Minister for Justice James O’Callaghan recently introduced new legislation reducing from seven to two years the timeframe within which CAB can obtain a final order to dispose of assets. The measures also grant enhanced restraint powers over financial accounts and other assets.