An apartment block seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) over Christmas was sold today for €3,950,000 by Lowe and Associates at an auction in Dublin today.
The result of the auction means the CAB was just short the €4 million settlement they are pursuing the property's former owners for.
Eagle House, Queen Street in Smithfield in Dublin's north inner, was owned by two men who have convictions for handling stolen property. They have been under investigation by CAB for the past three years.
The complex comprises 14 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments as well as 6,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor that could house six or eight retail units.
Lowe & Associates were appointed by the CAB to sell the property. It was auctioned at their offices on Lower Rathmines Road this afternoon.
The auction coincided with the visit of a British politician to study efforts to crack down on criminal assets and wealth.
British Home Office Minister Mr Bob Ainsworth arrived on a fact-finding mission to see how CAB works before setting up a British equivalent later this month.
"Today's auction is sending out a clear message that crime does not pay. This is exactly the message that I want to get across to the criminal 'Mr Bigs' operating in the UK - we are now coming after you and your ill-gotten gains," Mr Ainsworth said.
The Criminal Assets Bureau, set up in 1996, froze goods and assets worth €30 million and collected €10 million in taxes from criminals last year.
