The Director of Public Prosecutions v Chiyu Chen & Ying Chen

Amount Forfeited

€32,290

Court Date

4 December 2015

Venue

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Judge

His Honour Judge Martin Nolan

Summary

On the 4 December 2015 Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ordered the forfeiture to the Exchequer of cash amounting to €32,290 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 23 October 2012 Revenue Enforcement Officers at Dublin Airport seized and detained the cash from Chiyu Chen and Ying Chen as they were about to board a flight to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with an onward connection to China. 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.

The cash had been found concealed in a sophisticated manner within household and personal hygiene items carried in checked-in luggage. It had been claimed that the cash represented savings and was to be used to finance children's education in China. However it was proven to the Court that these claims did not stand up to scrutiny, and that in fact the cash was being exported in an attempt to evade collection of outstanding taxes by Revenue.

The application at the Circuit Criminal Court was unopposed.