The State received over €7m resulting from investigations carried out by the Criminal Assets Bureau last year.
The CAB annual report published today notes that the agency has had to adopt new tactics to recover the proceeds of crime because of the economic downturn.
The report says CAB brought 15 new actions before the High Court, mostly taken against those suspected of drug trafficking, prostitution and trading in counterfeit goods, which resulted in over €3.1m being returned to the State.
CAB investigations also yielded over €4m in unpaid taxes and interest and it has recovered over €181,000 in social welfare overpayments.
It said it has seen such an increase in the number of social welfare investigations that it has applied to the Department of Social Protection for an additional staff member.
CAB said there were difficulties in selling properties and recovering money owed from those with a reduced net worth or who are now bankrupt.
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter praised CAB for its "success … in targeting the proceeds of criminal activity in this jurisdiction".
