Irish family-based gang targeted in probe into €4m money laundering scheme

EU police agency believes funds are result of 'illegal activity across Europe'

A car was seized as part of the CAB raid in Tipperary and Kilkenny on Wednesday, which Europol says focused on a criminal gang involved in 'illegal activity across Europe'.

The EU police agency said an Irish criminal gang is believed to have earned in excess of €4m, identified in a Criminal Assets Bureau operation on Wednesday, from “illegal activity across Europe”.

Europol, which assisted CAB, also revealed that €100,000 in cash was seized from the outfit in this week’s searches by CAB in Kilkenny and Tipperary.

After the searches, CAB said 16 bank accounts, and funds of €540,000, had been frozen.

But, in total, more than €4m was identified in monies coming from abroad into accounts linked to the gang – funds currently under forensic examination.

The gang is based around an extended family and some of them were thought to have been present when the five searches took place.

Four homes – three in Kilkenny and one in Tipperary – were searched, along with a pub in Tipperary.

CAB said earlier this week that Europol had assisted in liaising with law enforcement agencies among other member states.

In a statement issued on Friday, Europol said CAB took actions against a criminal gang suspected of large-scale money laundering.

Fund transfers in excess of €4m were identified from other jurisdictions to Irish bank accounts linked to members of this criminal network.

"The gang is believed to have made this money from illegal activity across Europe.” 

It said the searches took place in Tipperary and Kilkenny “as a result of which €100,000 in cash and a car worth €75,000 were seized”.

It added: “A total of 16 bank accounts linked to members of the crime group were also frozen. The accounts contained cumulative funds of €540,000.” 

Europol said such results were “made possible thanks to the model of non-conviction-based forfeiture operated by the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau”.

The EU agency said international cooperation was essential for the successful recovery of assets hidden abroad and said Europol’s position “at the heart of the European security architecture” helped facilitate such a mechanism.

In relation to the CAB operation, it said: “In this case, Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre pieced together the intelligence provided by different countries on this one same criminal network and put all the involved countries around one table.

“The partners have since worked closely together on this case to uncover the actual magnitude of the criminal activity of this gang and to establish a joint strategy for the final phase of the investigation.”