Brian Meehan became the first financial victim of the new legislation when the Cab successfully secured the forfeiture of €104,000 of his criminal pro

Brian Meehan, a key figure in John Gilligan's gang, whose activities led to the setting up of the multi-agency body. Some of the Gilligan gang were involved in the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin in June 1996 and that crime was the catalyst for the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Meehan, who is serving a life sentence for that murder, became the first financial victim of the new legislation when the Cab successfully secured the forfeiture of €104,000 of his criminal profits. However, he is still fighting a court battle to prevent the CAB from seizing another €800,000. This massive haul is being held in an Austrian bank by Meehan, a native of Crumlin, on the southside of Dublin. Meehan is the only person to be have been publicly identified from the list of targeted names, which have been drawn up by senior CAB personnel. Other targets have property and assets stashed away in countries such as Spain and the Netherlands, as well as parts of eastern Europe, including Bulgaria. The CAB is already active in helping to implement confiscation requests presented here by other countries. The aim now is to ensure reciprocal arrangements can be successful operated, and the setting up of the network of asset recovery offices and streamlining legislation are regarded as crucial to securing that aim. According to the head of the financial crime section in the European Commission, Sebastiano Tine, confiscation makes it possible to attack the decision-makers within criminal organisations and also acts as a deterrent by proving that crime does not pay.