Suspect in €94m laundering probe is extradited from the US
The operation has involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. Stock image: Getty
The extradition from the US of a 44-year-old man who was remanded in custody in Dublin on Monday is the latest development in the gardaí's long-running Operation Skein.
The operation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) has led to gardaí identifying 1,400 potential suspects involved in the theft and laundering of €94m.
Gardaí said more than 630 people had been arrested as part of this operation and more than half of these had been charged with gangland offences as well as money laundering.
In the latest case, the defendant – who has previous addresses in Clondalkin and Mallow, Co Cork – left Ireland for the states of Texas and Georgia in the US before being arrested by police ahead of his extradition to Ireland.
The joint operation involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement.
He left Ireland after a book of evidence was served on him at Blanchardstown District Court in December 2018.
A bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear at Dublin Circuit Court in July 2020 and an extradition warrant was later put in place, with investigations establishing he was living in the US.
The defendant is charged with possessing €23,625, the proceeds of criminal conduct, and did not apply for bail at yesterday's brief court hearing in Dublin Circuit Court.
The offence is alleged to have taken place at an unknown location within the Dublin Metropolitan District in March 2017 and allegedly concerns business email compromise fraud, known as BEC.
According to the latest data obtained by the Irish Independent, out of the 1,400 suspects identified by Operation Skein, many used false identity documents to set up bank accounts.
The majority of the suspects have been Irish and Nigerian nationals, but a significant number of Italian, British, Portuguese and Romanian nationals have also been identified.
Of the 630 people arrested, 110 were arrested for organised-crime offences, with the rest being detained under money-laundering legislation.
Around 70 of the suspects who have been arrested were juveniles and have been dealt with under the Garda Youth Diversion Programme and dealt with by special garda juvenile liaison officers (JLOs).
To date, 24 of the suspects arrested for gangland-style offences have been charged before the courts and eight of these have pleaded guilty, with most receiving jail sentences.
Dozens of money mules have mostly received suspended sentences after being convicted.
Gardaí said in a statement that arrests had been made all over Ireland as part of the operation, which has been ongoing for seven years.
There has been multiple extraditions from a wide variety of mostly EU countries as part of the investigation but the extradition of the 44-year-old is the first time a defendant has been brought back from the United States.
Many international police forces have visited Ireland to study gardaí's pro-active approach to following the money trail and senior GNECB detectives have also travelled abroad to advise their counterparts.
The operation has involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. Stock image: Getty
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