Gold was switched for worthless copper, metals dealer tells court

GOLD with a value of about €104,000 had been allegedly switched for another material which was virtually useless, the High Court has been told.

After hearing an ex parte application by Stirling Jewellers (Dudley) , Ms Justice Mary Laffoy made an order restraining Peter Osa-Amadasun and Nike Lorna Osa-Amadasun, trading as PE Eamons Business Services, North King Street, Dublin, from reducing their money held in any bank or institution here below €104,000.

Sharna Ragonesi, a director of Stirling Jewellers with registered offices in Britain, said that, on September 27 her company entered into a verbal contract with the defendants at Allendale Drive, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, to buy from them of 2,900 grams of fine gold for €104,000.

It was agreed to purchase the gold through an electronic transfer of funds from the plaintiff’s bank in Britain to the defendants’ bank in Dublin.

Stirling Jewellers had not done business with the defendants previously, but were introduced through a third party, Thokatura Pattabhiram, with whom the plaintiff has a long standing business relationship. Mr Pattabhiram runs a cash-for-gold retail premises on Moore Street, Dublin 8, and could test the gold on offer using specialist equipment.

Ms Ragonesi said she knew little about Mr Pattabhiram save for the reference to him by the defendants as “The Italians”, and a meeting with one man known only as John.

The gold was tested by Mr Pattabhiram by cutting the metal to check its colour and consistency and using specialist equipment to X-ray the gold and verify it as being “fine gold”.

Ms Ragonesi added that the involvement of the defendants appeared to be as middlemen in the transaction.

Ms Ragonesi and Mr Pattabhiram met the defendants and John on September 27 at her premises, the Bullion Room, a wholesale precious metal dealership in Bolton Street, Dubin. She was handed a sealed package and told to put it in a safe, which she did.

Ms Ragonesi said she asked the defendants to agree the gold be vaulted on her premises pending clearance of the funds. She kept one key and gave the other to Mr Pattabhiram.

However, she said she believed that the defendants and John forced Mr Pattabhiram to hand over the key, and she subsequently learned John had insisted on taking the second key on the basis that he and the defendants were without either the gold or funds and were anxious to ensure the agreement would be completed as agreed.

She later checked a separate sample of the gold and was satisfied the sample was fine gold as agreed.

Ms Ragonesi said at around 9.55am on September 28, Mr Pattabhiram told her he had seen the defendants and John in a car in the vicinity of the Bullion Room. They had agreed to meet the defendants there at 10am but when they did not arrive Ms Ragonesi instructed her bank to cancel the transfer of funds immediately, only to be told it was too late.

At around 6.30pm Ms Ragonesi accessed the safe and analysed the sample again. X-ray analysis indicated it was gold-plated copper, which was virtually worthless. She then contacted the gardaí.

Ms Ragonesi said one of the defendants, Nike Lorna Osa-Amadasun, told her the money was in her account but that she had paid John a €40,000 deposit and she would take that back before considering returning any funds.

On September 29, the gardaí directed Bank of Ireland not to permit transactions on two accounts belonging to the defendants for a period of seven days.