|
Funmi Abimbola jailed for three years Subscribe to our news service at HERE What Happened? Funmi Abimbola, a 26-year-old bank worker from Ireland, has been sent to prison for three years for aiding the Black Axe organised crime group in money laundering operations. Abimbola was in fact sentenced in the Circuit Criminal Court today to five years in prison with two suspended. Black Axe, known as a highly dangerous transnational organisation, is involved in various criminal activities, including fraud, trafficking, and violent crimes. Abimbola, who had a master's degree and a respectable position at the Bank of Ireland, was responsible for managing money mules and handling accounts for the group in Ireland. His criminal activities were uncovered during a broader investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) and Interpol into the Black Axe organisation. Abimbola's involvement became apparent after the investigation into a €1 million invoice redirection fraud from a solicitor’s office. Authorities found him using false identities, purchasing items with laundered money, and coordinating through encrypted messaging platforms with other members of the criminal group. Despite being initially released on bail, Abimbola fled to the UK but was later extradited back to Ireland, where he received a five-year sentence, two of which were suspended. Several other individuals associated with the money laundering scheme received suspended sentences. Of the €1m stolen from the solicitor’s office €700,000 of that money was recovered and ten people were convicted of laundering the money. Judge Pauline Codd said that he was "effectively oiling the wheels" of this crime. The judge also noted the irony of Abimbola having worked for Bank of Ireland during the commission of some of the offences. Gardaí and Interpol have been focused on the activities of the organised crime group known as Black Axe which originated in West Africa but has a global footprint. Black Axe has been involved in online fraud, human trafficking, drugs and gun crime as well as murder. Others convicted include:
Lessons for MLROs This case underscores critical areas of focus for Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs):
Sources:
0 Comments
 Subscribe to our news service at HERE A former senior garda has warned proposed new gambling laws restricting stakes and winnings will increase black market betting and lead to resource challenges for the force.
Pat Lordan, a former chief superintendent at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, said the Government’s new Gambling Regulation Bill poses increased money laundering risks. He said “over regulating” the gambling industry will encourage criminal networks to facilitate underground markets which are difficult to police. “It is resource intensive if you have to go to every casino in the country that is legal and not legal, because they are not going to have a sign over the door,” he added. “It will fall back to Johnny the guard down in Dingle to go out on his pushbike and see if there is any gambling there in the shed of a house.” Source: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ex-garda-warns-proposed-gambling-laws-will-be-hard-to-police/a1806305629.html  Subscribe to our news service at HERE 1. What Happened? It seems that the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is facing a significant challenge in accessing €345 million in Bitcoin seized from Crumlin drug dealer Clifton Collins. The Bitcoin, originally valued at €53 million when seized in 2019, is locked away in 12 digital wallets, with the keys to access them reportedly missing. Collins created 12 wallets for storing the bitcoin and recorded the codes, or digital keys, for each in a document. Collins decided it would be safer to disperse his growing fortune across multiple virtual wallets that hold the cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin was uncovered by the Garda after an operation targeting Collins (in 2019) when it was valued at €53 million. Garda has effectively been sitting on the asset, hoping advances in technology will lead to it being unlocked, it has soared in value to €345 million. Collins – a 53-year-old former beekeeper – grew cannabis crops in rented houses and sold the harvested drug to criminals, including in his native Crumlin. He was apprehended in 2017 after a cannabis growing operation was discovered by chance after years of operating under the radar. Gardaí on a routine patrol spotted a car parked at Military Road near Sally Gap in Co Wicklow in the early hours of the morning and went to check on it. Cannabis herb valued at €2,000 was found in the car, driven by Collins. A subsequent investigation discovered he had been using three rented houses – in Galway, Meath and Longford – to grow cannabis. In the property in Galway, gardaí discovered a crop valued at €400,000 and Collins was later jailed for five years. Eventually the Irish High Court ruled that the Bitcoin was derived from criminal activity. While Collins had handed over some Bitcoin and a code to a portion of his stash, the bulk remains inaccessible due to the lost key, which was hidden in a fishing rod that has since gone missing. Collins invested some of the proceeds of his drugs business in bitcoin, when it was worth only a fraction of its current value, in 2011 and 2012. As the virtual currency increased in value, Collins decided it would be safer to disperse his growing fortune across multiple virtual wallets that hold the cryptocurrency. The keys for the 12 wallets were written on documents and then hidden in a fishing rod case at one of his rented properties, in Co Galway. In interviews with gardaí he claimed he never saw the case again after a break-in at his home. However, a clear-out of the property after his arrest may also have resulted in the loss of the document. In late 2020, Collins surrendered assets worth €1.2 million to the State as they were the proceeds of crime. They included €1 million in bitcoin, which he had the key codes for, as well as a two-seater Gyro aircraft, a camper van and a fishing boat. Despite the value of the Bitcoin skyrocketing, CAB is hopeful that advances in technology will eventually allow them to unlock the wallets. In the meantime, they have liquidated other assets and sold accessible Bitcoin to benefit the state. Collins remains a significant case for the CAB, marking him as their largest financial loss to date. The outcome of this situation will depend on future technological developments or the recovery of the missing key. Pursuing Bitcoin as the Proceeds of Crime is not new The Chief Bureau Officer of CAB informed Irish media way back in October 2021 that CAB is targeting the seizure of cryptocurrencies, however, the value of cryptoassets can be difficult to realise. Back then Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Gubbins said cryptocurrency plays a part in some of the assets that CAB has seized and while there is a substantial value to the cryptocurrency, "we just don't have the keys to get that". 2. What’s interesting?
Source:
20241004 - Man accused of having €335k in crime proceeds after 'romance fraud' investigation4/10/2024 Written by a www.MoneyLaundering.ie Guest Contributor Subscribe to our news service at HERE 1. Summary
2. What’s interesting
Source:
|
AuthorOn this page you will find a selection of links to articles useful for AFC training. Archives
January 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed