The Director of Public Prosecutions v Andrei Piatlitski

Amount Forfeited

€124,800

Court Date

20 May 2015

Venue

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Judge

Patrick McCartan

Summary

On the 20 May 2015, Dublin Circuit Court ordered the forfeiture to the Exchequer of cash amounting to €124,800 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 and that the explanations given did not stand up to scrutiny.

On 23 December 2012 Revenue Enforcement Officers at Dublin Airport seized and detained €124,800, from Andrei Piatlitski, a Belarus-born Irish national, as he was about to board a flight to Lithuania. €55,000 of this was detected by security at Dublin Airport, concealed around the upper body of his wife. The balance was in a holdall held by Mr Piatlitski. He claimed that the cash was saved from his employment in a scrap metal company during his ten years working in the State.

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.

A Belarusian solicitor for Mr Piatlitski was in attendance at the Circuit Court. Following presentation of the case before the court, the cash was forfeited to the State.