CAB reaction: Criminal Assets Bureau sources said last night that new laws will help the bureau target property developers and land owners who corruptly secured planning permission in Dublin city and county.
The bureau has also enlisted the assistance of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation to investigate individuals who have obstructed the tribunals of inquiry.
New laws will strengthen the powers of CAB allowing it to confiscate the assets of anybody which it believes engaged in "unjust enrichment", the sources said.
Provisions allowing for the confiscation of the proceeds of "unjust enrichment" have been included in the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill, which is at committee stage before the Dáil and is expected to become law before the end of this year.
CAB sources said a significant number of individuals would be targeted under the amendment provisions once these had been enacted. The concept of unjust enrichment is defined as deriving "pecuniary or other advantage or benefit as a result of or in connection with corrupt conduct".
Under the new legislation if a judge believes a person has been unjustly enriched they can make a "corrupt enrichment order" which will force that person to pay "an amount equivalent to the amount by which the court determines the person has been enriched".
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