Proceeds of Crime Act 1996

• Enactment Date: 04 August 1996
• Act Number: 30

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Number 30 of 1996

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PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 1996

REVISED

Updated to 30 July 2018

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including Companies (Statutory Audits) Act 2018 (22/2018), enacted 25 July 2018, and all statutory instruments up to and including Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 (Commencement) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 298 of 2018), made 26 July 2018, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 30 of 1996

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PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 1996

REVISED

Updated to 30 July 2018

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was first passed.

Related legislation

Proceeds of Crime Acts 1996 to 2016: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation (Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 (8/2016), s. 7(2)). The Acts in the group are:

• Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 (30/1996)

• Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005 (1/2005), Part 2

• Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 (8/2016)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1984, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 (9/2018)

• Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 (8/2016)

• Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006)

• Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 (2/2005)

• Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005 (1/2005)

• Euro Changeover (Amounts) Act 2001 (16/2001)

• International War Crimes Tribunals Act 1998 (40/1998)

All Acts up to and including Companies (Statutory Audits) Act 2018 (22/2018), enacted 25 July 2018, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011)

• Registration of Deeds Rules 2008 (S.I. No. 52 of 2008)

All statutory instruments up to and including Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018 (Commencement) Order 2018 (S.I. No. 298 of 2018), made 26 July 2018, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 30 of 1996

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PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 1996

REVISED

Updated to 30 July 2018

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

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Number 30 of 1996

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PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 1996

REVISED

Updated to 30 July 2018

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AN ACT TO ENABLE THE HIGH COURT, AS RESPECTS THE PROCEEDS OF CRIME, TO MAKE ORDERS FOR THE PRESERVATION AND, WHERE APPROPRIATE, THE DISPOSAL OF THE PROPERTY CONCERNED AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [4th August, 1996]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of Act confirmed not restricted (12.02.2005) by Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005 (1/2005), s. 10, commenced on enactment.

Non-application to Principal Act of section 11(7) of Statute of Limitations 1957.

10.—For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that section 11(7) of the Statute of Limitations 1957 does not apply in relation to proceedings under the Principal Act.

Interpretation.

1

1.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

F1[ ‘the applicant’ means a person, being a member, an authorised officer or the Criminal Assets Bureau, who has applied to the Court for the making of an interim order or an interlocutory order and, in relation to such an order that is in force, means, as appropriate, any member, any authorised officer or the Criminal Assets Bureau;]

F2[“authorisation” means an authorisation for the detention of property granted under section 1A;]

“authorised officer” means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised in writing by the Revenue Commissioners to perform the functions conferred by this Act on authorised officers;

F2[“bureau officer” has the same meaning as it has in the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996;]

F3[ ‘consent disposal order’ means an order under section 3(1A) or 4A(1);]

F3[‘criminal conduct’ means any conduct—

(a) which constitutes an offence or more than one offence, or

(b) which occurs outside the State and which would constitute an offence or more than one offence—

(i) if it occurred within the State,

(ii) if it constituted an offence under the law of the state or territory concerned, and

(iii) if, at the time when an application is being made for an interim order or interlocutory order, any property obtained or received at any time (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by or as a result of or in connection with the conduct is situated within the State;]

“the Court” means the High Court;

“dealing”, in relation to property in the possession or control of a person, includes—

(a) where a debt is owed to that person, making a payment to any person in reduction of the amount of the debt,

(b) removing the property from the State, and

(c) in the case of money or other property held for the person by another person, paying or releasing or transferring it to the person or to any other person;

“disposal order” means an order under section 4;

“interest”, in relation to property, includes right;

“interim order” means an order under section 2;

“interlocutory order” means an order under section 3;

“member” means a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of Chief Superintendent;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

F1[‘proceeds of crime’ means any property obtained or received at any time (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by or as a result of or in connection with criminal conduct;]

F1[‘property’, in relation to proceeds of crime, includes—

(a) money and all other property, real or personal, heritable or moveable,

(b) choses in action and other intangible or incorporeal property, and

(c) property situated outside the State where—

(i) the respondent is domiciled, resident or present in the State, and

(ii) all or any part of the criminal conduct concerned occurs therein,

and references to property shall be construed as including references to any interest in property;]

F1[‘the respondent’ means a person, wherever domiciled, resident or present, in respect of whom an interim order or interlocutory order, or an application for such an order, has been made and includes any person who, but for this Act, would become entitled, on the death of the first-mentioned person, to any property to which such an order relates (being an order that is in force and is in respect of that person);]

F4[(1A) (a) For the avoidance of doubt, a person shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be in possession or control of property notwithstanding that it (or any part of it)—

(i) is lawfully in the possession of any member of the Garda Síochána, any officer of the Revenue Commissioners or any other person, having been lawfully seized or otherwise taken by any such member, officer or person,

(ii) is subject to an interim order or interlocutory order or any other order of a court which—

(I) prohibits any person from disposing of or otherwise dealing with it or diminishing its value, or

(II) contains any conditions or restrictions in that regard,

or is to the like effect,

or

(iii) is subject to a letting agreement, the subject of a trust or otherwise occupied by another person or is inaccessible,

and references in this Act to the possession or control of property shall be construed accordingly.

(b) Paragraph (a)(ii) is without prejudice to sections 11(2) and 13(2).]

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended, and

(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended, and

(c) a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent...