The Director of Public Prosecutions v Veaceslav Copiimulti

Amount Forfeited

€25,000

Court Date

6 October 2015

Venue

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Judge

Martin Nolan

Summary

On the 5 October 2015 Dublin Circuit Criminal Court ordered the forfeiture to the Exchequer of cash amounting to €25,000 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 1 January 2015 Revenue Enforcement Officers at Dublin Airport seized and detained the cash from Moldovan national, Mr Veaceslav Copiimulti, as he was about to board a flight to Malaga, Spain.

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.

In Dublin Airport when asked Mr Copiimulti indicated that he only had €10,000. The remaining €15,000 was found when his baggage was searched. He initially claimed that he had been given the cash by his wife and his friend Oleg and that he was going to use it to purchase paving stones. He later claimed that two different people had given him the cash and that it was to be used to purchase industrial machinery.

However it was proven to the Court that neither the claimed source of the cash nor the assertion regarding its intended use stood up to scrutiny.

The application at the Circuit Court was contested. However, the Court was satisfied that on the balance of probability the cash was the proceeds of crime or was intended for use in connection with criminal activity and ordered the forfeiture of the cash to the State.