PROPERTY SUCH as high-powered cars and jewellery were a major target for the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) last year, with the organisation increasing its activities in this area by 45 per cent.
Cab said yesterday it initiated 16 such cases under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Publishing its annual report for 2007, the bureau said the increase demonstrated a "policy shift" towards earlier applications to the courts, focused on lower-value assets and "middle-ranking" criminals.
"Such an approach ensures that easily disposed-of assets, such as high-powered motor vehicles or jewellery, are not dissipated by the time a more comprehensive investigation is complete."
Cab's chief bureau officer John O'Mahony said this tended to target "a more middle-ranking criminal, effectively giving the bureau a higher visibility at a more local level".
The report cited one case where Cab sought an order last March to seize a car belonging to a convicted drug dealer.
The court proceedings were completed by July and the car was sold, netting €13,000, less Cab's legal expenses.
Cab collected over €10 million in taxes and interest last year and recovered more than €136,000 in social welfare payments.
Tax assessments were raised in relation to 21 individuals. Cab said many investigations were concluded by agreement, providing for the payment of tax, interest and penalties.
Including that interest, Cab collected more than €7.3 million in income tax; €301,487 in capital gains tax; €946,490 in VAT; €1.3 million in corporation tax and €123,789 in PAYE/PRSI.
As a result of its investigations into social welfare cases, almost €551,000 in such payments were terminated, including over €245,000 in one-parent family payments, €145,425 in jobseeker's allowance payments, €78,798 in disability allowance payments, €60,384 in carer's allowance payments and €20,780 in farm assist payments.
Cab also identified nearly €532,000 in "overpayments" of social welfare assistance, including €327,659 in one-parent family payments.
Of the €136,623 it recovered from recipients, €73,234 related to one-parent payments, with €26,300 in disability allowance payments recovered and €19,590 recouped in jobseeker's allowance payments.
In total, Cab spent just over €5.1 million, of which a full €4.1 million was on pay.
The body said the fact that it was "not bound by any particular financial targets" had given it great flexibility in the utilisation of the remedies available to it.
It said the "imaginative use" of the Proceeds of Crime Act ensured that €3 million was provided for the benefit of victims of an insurance fraud in the US.
This was a reference to the case of deceased American fraudster Matthew Wallace Schachter, who lived in Ireland and had been under investigation here since 2004.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said the report demonstrated the "continuing effectiveness of a co-ordinated, multi-agency approach in dealing with the issue of the proceeds of criminal activity".
"I am delighted that there is a new focus on lower-value assets and middle-ranking criminals," he said.
"I believe that this will address the understandable desire of communities that the bureau should focus on all criminals who are parading their ill-gotten assets before local communities."
Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said the €10 million raised by Cab should be put back into communities affected by criminals.
"Using the proceeds from CAB's activities to fund drug treatment and awareness programmes around the country would have immediate and clear benefits for the communities which are paying the price of the drugs trade."