The Supreme Court has sent a long-running Criminal Assets Bureau case involving Routeback Media and Harry Zeman back to the High Court for a limited rehearing on genuinely new evidence.
The dispute concerns money held in a Bank of Ireland account connected with credit-card processor EuroConex. When CAB proceedings began in 2009, the balance was stated to be $651,447.85. The Bureau alleged the funds represented proceeds of crime arising from Routeback’s internet business selling email accounts. Zeman and Routeback denied that allegation.
The High Court froze the funds on an interim basis in January 2009 and made a further order under section 3 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 in January 2011, finding the property to be proceeds of crime. No appeal was brought from that order.
More than seven years later, CAB sought a final disposal order transferring the assets away from the respondents. Zeman, who at stages represented himself, filed further evidence and also sought to have the 2011 order discharged. The High Court made the final disposal order in May 2022.
The Court of Appeal later found that some genuinely new evidence had been produced, but nevertheless dismissed Zeman’s appeal.
The Supreme Court has now held that the fresh material should have been considered on its merits. Mr Justice Peter Charleton said the High Court should also have treated Zeman’s attempted notice to cross-examine witnesses as an application for permission to do so, rather than rejecting it primarily on procedural grounds.
However, the ruling does not reopen the entire case. A section 3 order is effectively a final determination that property is the proceeds of crime. A later challenge must therefore rely on genuinely new and credible evidence, not simply repeat arguments or seek to cross-examine every witness from the original hearing.
The case will return to the High Court for a focused hearing on that new material. Zeman bears the burden of showing that the assets did not derive from criminal activity or that a disposal order would be unjust.