Teenager had €91k lodged in his Cork bank account after Snapchat approach by crime gang

Accused was contacted by organised crime group and asked for his account to be used in exchange for a small payment, court heard

Gardaí identified a number of communications between the defendant and the ‘controller’ in the organised crime group, court told. Picture: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

A 19-year-old “money mule” had €91,000 diverted to his bank account in Cork and he was then taken to Dublin by a criminal organisation to withdraw €65,000 over a three-day period in Dublin.

Detective Garda Seán Sheehan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau testified the accused man, Kenoly Ugbodu, made 30 withdrawals through currency exchange bureaus in Dublin over a period of 72 hours and a further €10,000 was spent in making purchases at mobile phone stores.

Defence barrister Tom Power said the balance of €16,000 was recalled by Bank of Ireland for the true owner of the cash “when the bank realised something was going on”. 

Kenoly Ugbodu pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to a charge of money laundering by having €91,000 cash in his account in September 2017.

Det Garda Sheehan explained the €91,000 was an invoice redirection scam whereby a company due to receive a substantial payment from another company had their bank account details altered so it was sent to an account belonging to someone not entitled to receive any money. 

In this case, the criminal organisation changed the payee’s details to those of the bank account for the 19-year-old defendant.

The €91,000 then landed in his Bank of Ireland account in Cork. The crime bureau identified the defendant’s account details following the arrest of a number of high-profile members of the criminal organisation. 

They also identified a number of communications between the defendant and the ‘controller’ in the organised crime group.

The teenager was arrested and interviewed and he made full admissions. He said he was approached through Snapchat and asked for his account to be used in exchange for a small payment.

Under threat

Mr Power BL suggested the accused was not a member of the organised crime group to which reference was made and that he was under threat to do what he did. 

“He has expressed shame and regret at being involved in this matter. He was young and naive,” Mr Power said. 

Det Garda Sheehan acknowledged that but said: “The money mule is an essential cog in the process of money-laundering. Otherwise it cannot go ahead.” 

Mr Power said the offence dated back five years and the accused was only 19 at the time. 

“He was young and naïve at the time. He is hoping to go on to study to be a counsellor. He comes from a nice family. He seems to have been contacted on Snapchat — how they got his details is not entirely clear. 

"He has no history of drug or alcohol abuse or anything like that. From limited means the accused brought €1,000 to court as compensation. He has worked quite hard to improve himself.” 

Judge Helen Boyle was concerned about the fact he had an unrelated theft conviction from the district court last year. Mr Power said he has been out of trouble since then. 

The judge said she would give him a chance to prove that he was no longer getting into difficulties and she put sentencing back until February 7, 2023.