Friend of Christy Kinahan used proceeds of crime to pay for daughters' Swiss boarding school, High Court hears
Kinahan protégé Ciaran 'Sam' O'Sullivan used criminal cash to send his daughters to a Swiss finishing school for girls, the High Court has heard.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
Man remanded in custody accused of sitting driving theory tests for other people
A MAN HAS been remanded in custody after being charged with conspiring to pose as driving theory test candidates in a learner permit fraud. It follows an investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, which opened in March 2021 and targeted fraudulently obtained driving permits. Andre Contagariu, 26, with an address at Castlecurragh Park, Dublin 15, was arrested shortly before 7am this morning. The married father of two was then charged with two offences. It is alleged that between 14 September 2018 and 29 June 2021, he conspired with one or more persons to do an act that constitutes serious offences. The first was the unlawful use of a computer within the State by undergoing driver theory tests on behalf of third parties to obtain driver theory test pass certificates. According to the second conspiracy charge, he allegedly carried out deceptions over the same period 'by unlawfully undergoing driver theory tests in the names of third parties to induce the issue of driver theory test pass certificates' to make a gain or cause a loss to another by deception. Advertisement He appeared before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court today, where Detective Garda Barry McCormack gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. Judge Hughes heard the man 'made no reply' when charged. Due to the offence category, the High Court must decide if Mr Contagariu can be released on bail. Defence solicitor Sandra Frayne said her client, who did not address the proceedings, was seeking legal aid and had no income. The judge heard that Mr Contagariu was not getting social welfare and was supported by his family. Noting there was no Garda objection, he agreed to grant legal aid. Judge Hughes remanded the accused in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court for directions from the DPP on Thursday, 3 July. His trial venue was not stated; it has yet to be detailed whether the case will be dealt with at the District Court level or be sent to the Circuit Criminal Court, which has greater sentencing powers. The conspiracy allegations are under section 71 of the Theft and Fraud Act, which can, on conviction, carry a maximum 10-year sentence. A man and woman have already been jailed on connected charges.
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Sunday World
Drug dealer tells judge to ‘shove it up your hole' after €139k crime cash seized
The money, which was originally in three separate accounts, was declared the proceeds of crime 11 years ago which McInerney had contested. A DRUG dealer told a judge to shove it 'up your hole' after being told €139,156 in a frozen bank account would be handed over to the State. Charles Darren McInerney who appeared in the High Court this week in handcuffs had asked 'where's the proof?' that the money was the proceeds of crime. Judge Alexander Owens explained that the ruling had been made in 2014 and that 'you don't get a second go.' Charles Darren McInerney News in 90 Seconds - June 28th He told McInerney, from Portlaoise, he had failed to make his case in 2014 when he didn't turn up in court. McInerney replied that he had been locked up at the time and 'didn't know anything about it.' The judge pointed out that no effort had been made to set aside the 2014 ruling and that McInerney can't 'relitigate the matter now.' Mr McInerney asked if that meant 'I get nothing back?' and repeated that it was legitimate money. Asked if he understood what the ruling meant he said he didn't 'have a clue' and that he can't read or write. Judge Owens said the original ruling was 'conclusively' against him and the very best barrister would not be able to do anything for him. Mr McInerney repeated that the money came from cars, horses and scrap dealing and that there was no proof. Judge Owens ordered that the money be handed over to the State and allowed a stay of three weeks in the event of an appeal. 'I'm in jail where am I going to get a solicitor?' asked Mr McInerney. As he was led out by prison staffs he said: 'Shove the money up your arse, shove it up your hole.' The money, which was originally in three separate accounts, was declared the proceeds of crime 11 years ago which McInerney had contested. The judge at the time dismissed McInerney's claims as to how the cash was generated as being 'quite unconvincing indeed.' Evidence was given that gardai had found cannabis, a weighing scales and a knife in McInerney's house and that he was involved in the sale and supply of controlled substances He had denied being involved in crime and initially insisted his only income was from social welfare during the six years Cab found €519,702 had been lodged to his and his wife Margaret's bank account. Another €15,000 in a credit union account he said had come from the sale of a car although no vehicle had been registered to his name. In second affidavit, he said money came from horse breeding and dealing in cars, but these were ruled inadmissible when he failed to appear in court. McInerney said he had been left six horses by his late grandfather when he was 15 years of age. He claimed that from his inheritance he successfully bred horses which he sold 'at various fairs around the country'. An appeal was lodged with the Supreme Court over the receivership order, but is was withdrawn in 2015 and no appeal made against the order declaring the cash to be the proceeds of crime. Darren McInerney did a runner from custody in 2018 after being brought from the high-security Portlaoise Prison to the nearby regional hospital. The Sunday World previously reported that he had been transferred to the jail from the Midlands prison after an alleged assault on a prison officer.
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Up to 60 caravans on Dept of Defence land in the Curragh despite order to leave
The majority of more than 80 caravans camping on Department of Defence-owned lands in the Curragh, Co Kildare, were still there on Friday morning despite a High Court order that they leave by 1pm, a judge was told. As a result, Mr Justice Brian Cregan ordered that interim injunctions he granted on Tuesday over the alleged trespass should remain in place until further order. More than 80 caravans, believed to be occupied by members of the Traveller Community who come over from England and France for the summer, had parked at a number of different locations on the Curragh plain since March, the court heard earlier this week. Their presence has resulted in "mountains of rubbish" having to be removed at a cost so far of €31,700. Some €186,000 was spent on similar clean ups last year in what has become an annual problem for land owners, residents, and horse trainers in the Curragh, the Minister for Defence has claimed in proceedings seeking to remove the caravans. There have also been problems with noise nuisance, scramblers and quad bikes causing damage to greens on a golf course, dogs running around horses being trained and animals being left to graze on the plain. The Defence Forces have been prevented from carrying out training on a firing range on the lands. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week The case was returned to Friday when there was no appearance for any of the caravan dwellers, including 21 named individuals who it had been possible to identify. The court heard the injunction notices were either handed to the occupants or pinned by bailiffs to the caravan doors and included a "plain English" version of them ordered by the court. Kelley Smith SC, for the minister, said that as of 10.10am on Friday, there were 60 caravans at four different locations on the lands. One slightly troubling aspect was that one group of caravans had moved from one location within the lands to another, she said. She applied to make the interim injunctions interlocutory which means they stay in place pending the full hearing of the minister's case against the defendants. Mr Justice Cregan said he was satisfied to grant the orders sought and said in notifying the defendants about the orders they should be informed, again in plain English, that further applications may be brought against them. Ms Smith said in event of failure to comply with the orders, it may be necessary to apply for attachment and committal orders seeking the jailing of the defendants for contempt.
