the cab was established in october 1996 by the then minister for justice, nora owen td, and was given statutory powers on 15 october 1996 by the criminal assets bureau act, 1996 (establishment day) order, 1996 (si 310/1996). the cab was established to deal with increasing levels of serious organised crime in ireland, most notable being the murders of crime reporter veronica guerin and detective garda jerry mccabe.