The Director of Public Prosecutions v Bernard Kirk

Amount Forfeited

€11,800

Court Date

24 October 2014

Venue

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Judge

Mary Ellen Ring

Summary

On 24 October 2014 Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ordered the forfeiture to the Exchequer of cash amounting to €11,800 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 19 August 2013 Revenue Enforcement Officers at Dublin Airport seized and detained the cash from an Irish national, Bernard Kirk, as he was about to board a flight to Abu Dhabi, UAE.

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 Kirk claimed that he was travelling to Abu Dhabi to visit his uncle and that he might use the cash as a deposit on property. He claimed that the cash was the profit from the sale of straw and silage and that he worked as a farmer but he did not provide any further details or documents in support of these claims. It was proven to the Court that these claims did not stand up to scrutiny.

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