IDG65400 - Procedure for disclosing to others (government): The Irish Criminal Assets Bureau

Why share information with the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau?

The Irish Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is part of the Garda Síochána (the Irish police force) and is staffed by officers drawn from the Republic of Ireland’s police, Irish Customs & Revenue and social welfare bodies. Its objectives are identifying assets arising from criminal activity, depriving criminals of the benefit of those assets and undertaking connected investigation work. The functions of the CAB include taking action to recover the proceeds of crime.

HMRC may wish to disclose information to the CAB in connection with either criminal or civil matters, where it will assist the CAB with carrying out their regulatory functions and associated investigations. The CAB can target suspected criminal assets globally, so any HMRC investigations where assets have been identified that have a link to the Republic of Ireland are potentially subject to CAB action.

Which parts of HMRC can disclose this information?

All areas of HMRC may hold information that will assist the CAB, but only the FCLO in Dublin may disclose such information (see below).

Legislation which allows disclosure

Section 19 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime & Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) enables disclosure in criminal cases.

Section 85 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 enables disclosure in civil cases. Statutory Instrument 2008/403 specifies the persons within the CAB that information may be disclosed to for civil matters.

Procedure to follow

All disclosures must be made through the Fiscal Crime Liaison Officer (FCLO) based in Dublin. For details see IDG90100.

Devolved administrations

This guidance applies to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Further guidance

If you receive a request for information and are unsure how to proceed, please contact Information Strategy for advice. See IDG90100 for contact details.