MORE THAN €5.4 million was returned to six victims of cryptocurrency theft last year, according to a new report from the Criminal Assets Bureau. 

The CAB 2021 annual report was published by Justice Minister Helen McEntee this morning. 

Minister McEntee said CAB “hits criminals where it hurts – in their pockets”. 

Set up in 1996, the Bureau tackles serious and organised criminal activity. It aims to deprive criminals of their assets acquired through criminal conduct. 

In 2021, CAB returned more than €5.5 million to the Exchequer. 

€204 million has been returned to the Exchequer from the tackling of organised crime between 1996 and 2021.

€165 million was in tax settlements, €33 million in crime proceeds and €6 million in social welfare recoupments, the report outlined. 

One particular case study in the 2021 report detailed an investigation involving six victims of cryptocurrency theft 

In 2019, CAB officers and members of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau worked with officers from a Homeland Security Investigation team in the US on a major investigation into the theft of a large amount of crypto. 

The crimes were perpetuated by an organised crime group. 

The report said a person who played a key role in the theft and laundering of cryptocurrency was identified as a member of this organised crime group. 

In May 2019, CAB officers seized Bitcoin from this individual. The approximate value at the time of the seizure was €872,177. 

The Bitcoin was sold in early 2021, and due to a significant rise in value in recent years it was worth around €5.4 million. These proceeds were distributed to six identified parties. 

A criminal investigation file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the individual has since been been convicted and sentenced.

Last year, the CAB annual report outlined that a significant seizure of cryptocurrency in 2020 drastically increased the value of assets frozen by the Bureau in 2020. 

CAB has been “at the vanguard” of law enforcement agencies identifying the potential for people to exploit cryptocurrencies to generate and launder criminal proceeds, the new report said.