The Revenue Commissioners have returned almost €575,000 worth of cash that was seized over suspicions it was linked to criminal activity.
More than €373,000 was given back by Revenue along with £164,000 during the past two and a half years.
In one case, a sum of €7,450 was held for more than 18 months before being returned with interest worth just €7.66.
Revenue listed 29 cases between January 2024 and June of this year where cash had to be returned to a person.
These were cases where money was originally believed to be either the proceeds of crime or intended for use in criminality.
In each case, the owner of the cash was able to give a satisfactory explanation to Revenue about the source of the funds and their intended use.
The largest seizure took place in May 2024 when £164,150 was confiscated along with €505.
Revenue held the money for almost 11 months before returning the full sterling amount along with €620, which included interest due, in March 2025.
In another case, a sum of €7,045 was seized in February 2025 and kept for more than 14 months before being returned with just under €6 in interest.
The largest euro-only seizure was €42,000, which was nabbed in May of last year.
It was quickly returned to its rightful owner in September, with €11.46 added in interest.
In one case in May 2024, one person had €20,000 and $10,400 seized from them on suspicion the money was linked to crime.
However, that was returned in the spring of 2025, with the full payout of €29,467.55 made in euro.
Of the 29 cases, 12 involved cash taken in 2024, 16 in 2025, and just one in the first half of this year.
In every case, Revenue gave the same reason for returning the money, saying it had received “adequate submissions” about the source and intended use of the cash.
Asked about the records, a spokesperson said criminal justice law allowed for the seizure of cash linked to suspected criminal activity.
“Revenue will conduct an investigation following a cash seizure to establish whether the cash has been derived from, or is intended to be used in, any criminal conduct. Once seized, Revenue has a maximum of two years to investigate,” they said.
They said that once the investigation is concluded, Revenue either returns the cash or submits a file to the DPP as part of a process to determine whether the money should be forfeited.
The spokesperson added that Revenue does not comment on individual cases but confirmed that no compensation beyond accrued interest had been paid in any of the cases.
Reporting by Ken Foxe
