Gardaí probing suspected IRA money laundering due to pass files to DPP

GARDAÍ investigating the suspected IRA money laundering operation expect to be in a position to send files to the Director of Public Prosecutions in weeks.

Detectives hope to have the individual files prepared and in the DPP’s offices in “two to three weeks”, according to garda sources.

The mammoth garda operation has seized thousands of files from homes and businesses since last Wednesday. They have also taken away computers and computer disks.

Experts from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (GBFI) and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) are assisting local gardaí.

The Computer Crime Investigation Unit of GBFI is examining the computer hard drives and disks seized.

The GBFI’s money laundering unit, together with CAB, is sifting through the documentation, company records and bank account details.

“All the raids are essentially done. It now has to be pure examination; analyse all the material and investigate all the bank accounts,” said one investigating source.

While the overall operation is organised by the crime and security section in garda headquarters in Dublin, the bulk of the investigative work is being conducted in Cork. Gardaí said all the raids and searches since last Wednesday stem from one central Cork-based company.

While a number of people have been arrested and had their homes and businesses searched they are all linked to one key individual.

Officers attached to CAB hope to identify assets and property linked to the companies under investigation.

While the agency already has a list of known assets, officers are in the process of determining the full extent of the property empire, with a view to seizing the other assets.

Gardaí yesterday confirmed that the operation stemmed from an investigation over the last eight to nine months into the funding and money laundering activities of the IRA, including cross-Border smuggling.

Officers from GBFI and CAB are expected to travel abroad, including Bulgaria, to examine whether money was laundered offshore and whether assets were purchased using the proceeds of crime.

Garda sources yesterday described as speculation claims the IRA was trying to set up a financial institution in Bulgaria to launder cash with the aid of a Bulgarian crime syndicate.

But they said all avenues will be investigated.