Last year, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) sold twelve houses, including the Dublin home of Liam Byrne, head of the Kinahan organised crime group. Despite being in jail in the UK for firearms offences, Byrne’s assets were seized by the CAB. In total, the agency seized almost €10 million of criminal assets and transferred over €8.5 million to the Exchequer, with €3.75 million set to be returned to communities soon.
CAB also identified fraudulent social welfare overpayments totaling over €3.3 million and saved over €713,000 by stopping payments. They conducted 46 searches across 22 counties and held their first online auction, selling over 100 confiscated luxury goods. The auction raised €446,000, with the most expensive item being a Rolex Watch at over €33,800.