MULTIPLE PROPERTIES SEARCHED AS PART OF JOINT CEA/GNECB OPERATION
As part of a joint operation, officers from the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) and the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) have carried out targeted searches this morning of properties in Meath and Kildare.
The searches were conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected company law and other theft & fraud-related offences on which the CEA and GNECB are co-operating.
NOTE FOR EDITORS
Corporate Enforcement Authority
The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) is Ireland’s company law enforcement agency. The CEA’s functions include to:
- promote compliance with company law,
- investigate instances of suspected breaches of company law,
- take appropriate enforcement action in response to identified breaches of company law,
- supervise the activities of liquidators of insolvent companies, and
- operate a regime of restriction and disqualification in respect of directors of insolvent companies.
The CEA discharges its mandate to promote compliance with company law through a range of activities, including developing and publishing accessible guidance materials and through its outreach activities. The CEA’s enforcement remit is both civil and criminal in nature and, in discharging that mandate, the CEA has at its disposal an extensive suite of statutory powers including:
- the power to require the production of documents, including electronic documents, by companies and relevant third parties,
- powers of search and seizure,
- the power of arrest, i.e., by CEA officers who are seconded members of An Garda Síochána, and
- powers to request the courts to order certain additional investigative measures.
The CEA is a multi-disciplinary agency whose staff complement includes, amongst others, accounting and legal professionals, seconded members of An Garda Síochána, and digital forensics experts.