Tax cheat probes net €2.5bn in eight years

Almost €2.5bn has been recovered from tax cheats through the Revenue’s special investigations since they began eight years ago, it was revealed today.

Last year alone, €54.6m of unpaid tax and duties was detected as part of the ongoing probes into offshore assets, life assurance policies and bogus non-resident accounts.

Revenue officials also continue to collect money from evaders uncovered by the various tribunals and the long-running inquiries into NIB accounts.

The lion’s share of the recoveries last year were made from offshore assets (€29m) and single premium insurance policies (€18.7m).

Some €4.1m was found hidden in bogus non-resident accounts and another €2.5m was concealed in Ansbacher accounts.

Preliminary figures for last year also reveal a record year for drugs seizures, with €550m worth of heroin, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines and ecstasy recovered.

The vast majority of this was down to the 70 bales of cocaine, worth €500m, found onboard the Dances with Waves yacht intercepted off the south west coast last November.

Cigarettes worth €54.3m were seized during 2008, a massive 80% jump on the value of cigarettes recovered the year before.

These came mainly from around 10 major commercial seizures, throughout the year, involving organised criminal gangs.

Revenue officials also took €3.4m in cash from suspected criminals as they were entering and leaving the country.

Two major incidents involved €700,000 packed into a suitcase intercepted at Dublin Airport and €439,000 which was hidden in the door of car stopped and searched before boarding a France-bound ferry at Rosslare Europort.

There were 20 convictions for serious tax evasion last year, up from 16 on the previous year, the Revenue Commissioners said.

Another 433 prosecutions arose from offences relating to laundered oil, marked mineral oil, VRT offences and other investigations into excise licenses and fraud.