The Director of Public Prosecutions v Arturs Stikans

Amount Forfeited

€7,260, 2,295 Ukrainian Hyrvnias and 100 Latvian Lats

Date

8 of February 2012

The Director of Public Prosecutions v Arturs Stikans

Venue

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Judge

Martin Nolan

Summary

On the 8 of February 2012, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ordered the forfeiture to the Exchequer of cash amounting to €7,260, 2,295 Ukrainian Hryvnias and 100 Latvian Lats pursuant to Section 39, Criminal Justice Act 1994, as amended by Section 21, Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2005, on the grounds that it was proven on the balance of probabilities to represent the proceeds of crime, or was intended for use in criminal conduct.

On the 12 of April 2010 Revenue Enforcement Officers from the Investigations and Prosecutions Division seized and detained the cash from Arturs Stikans, a Latvian national, having discovered it during a search under warrant of a house in Santry at which Mr Stikans was resident. During the course of the search of the house 92,520 untaxed cigarettes were discovered concealed throughout the property including the bins in the back garden and in the attic. None of the cigarettes discovered had the appropriate Irish tax stamp affixed which indicates that excise duty was not paid in this jurisdiction. The cash was found concealed in a shoebox in Mr Stikans’ bedroom. Mr Stikans claimed that the cash represented his savings from employment in the State, however no evidence was ever produced to support this claim.

Following an investigation by Revenue’s Investigations and Prosecutions Division, a file on the matter was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions who ordered the forfeiture proceedings.

Mr Stikans did not attend, nor was he represented at the Circuit Criminal Court, and the application was unopposed.