Latest news with #proceedsofcrime
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Irish Times
Houses associated with son of murdered Limerick gangster proceeds of crime, court rules
The High Court has ruled that three houses associated with the son of slain Limerick gangster Kieran Keane snr are the proceeds of crime, as are three cars and more than €100,000 frozen by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). At the High Court on Wednesday, respondents Kieran Keane jnr, who is believed to be in either Dubai or Spain, and his girlfriend Laura Flanagan, with an address in Garryowen, Co Limerick, had receivers appointed to the two houses, the cars and €101,000 in an AIB account after the court found he had no recognisable source of income and that she had been saving her social welfare for a period. Mr Keane jnr is the son of Limerick feud gangster Kieran Keane snr, who was murdered in January 2003, and the nephew of convicted drug-dealer Christy Keane. Mr Justice Alexander Owens said that an application for receivership over the Garryowen home property occupied by Ms Flanagan and her family would have to be brought by Cab at the next sitting of the case when any application for a stay could be considered. READ MORE Shelley Horan BL, for Cab, told the court that a forensic analysis of the couple's finances showed that travel expenses from the bank account used by Mr Keane jnr and Ms Flanagan showed expenses that revealed trips to Lithuania for cosmetic surgery, travel to Spain, Dubai and also to Lapland within the period of 2010 to 2019. At the High Court on Wednesday, Mr Justice Owens found that three Limerick properties that Mr Keane enjoyed the benefit of but had no title on were the proceeds of crime. Ms Horan had told the judge that 'absolutely nothing is offered for the source of funds for the seven assets subject to this case'. Ms Horan said a financial analyst at Cab estimated that one of the three Limerick properties had undergone approximately €289,000 in refurbishments which could not be accounted for. Mr Justice Owens ruled that three cars, an Audi A4 – since sold by Cab – a Skoda Octavia and a VW Amarok were also the proceeds of crime and had been in the possession of Mr Keane junior. Mr Justice Owens said that, regarding the AIB account, it appeared that they were 'living on fresh air' due to a lack of bank records for everyday regular expenditure. The judge said that if Mr Keane was in Dubai for a number of years then he must have money to pay his bills there because otherwise the respondent would be in jail. The judge said that Ms Flanagan and her children resided at the family home in Garryowen and that it would be 'clearly disruptive' to remove them from their family environment, which he had to take into consideration. Mr Justice Owens said that Mr Keane jnr had lived outside of the jurisdiction for a number of years without any apparent present intention to return but said he 'envisaged' Mr Keane jnr would do so in the future as his partner and children were living here. The judge said he was satisfied from a 'comprehensive' investigation by Cab that all three Garryowen properties were 'derived from the proceeds of crime' acquired in 'cash under the table deals'. The judge said of a separate fourth property, not involved in the High Court proceedings and since sold by the couple, that 'one cannot see where the money for that came from'. The judge said that an accounting analyst at Cab reported that property was bought as a 'shell' after being burned out and that €180,000 was spent on renovations. 'One can see from the photos it is anything but a shell. It was totally renovated and sold off,' said the judge. Mr Justice Owens said that it had been contended by Mr Keane jnr that the money in the AIB account was from, among other things, the sale of motorcars from his garage, but that the firm never made any tax returns. 'It is impossible to see any legitimate source for the working capital,' he said. Mr Justice Owens said that a lifestyle analysis carried out by Cab made it 'clear' that Mr Keane jnr did not have the money to purchase the cars. The judge said he accepted Cab officers' belief evidence on affidavit that Mr Keane jnr had allegedly associated with a number of known criminals himself and that he was an alleged 'driving force' in organised crime. 'It is likely that this criminal organisation is the source of funds used for all of these properties,' said the judge. Mr Justice Owens awarded costs solely against Mr Keane jnr and noted that neither Mr Keane jnr nor Ms Flanagan were on free legal aid.
The Sun
10-05-2025
- The Sun
How crooks hide ‘dirty money' by feeding cash into crypto, Dubai homes & posh schools raising fears over laundering laws
CRIMINAL gangs are going further than ever to hide their ill-gotten gains and avoid paying them back to victims, a Sun on Sunday probe can reveal. Crooks are skirting around proceeds-of-crime legislation by funnelling the cash into obscure cryptocurrencies, properties in Dubai and private school fees. 6 6 Figures obtained by The Sun on Sunday have raised fears that the current rules are not strong enough to stop criminals from hiding their money or laundering it abroad. The 2002 Proceeds of Crime Act gives the police and courts power to strip offenders of their profits. Cops can also seize flash cars, watches and properties. Criminals often buy goods hoping they cannot be taken away, as police forces often claim the value of a car or watch rather than the item itself, which reduces over time. Last year £885million was identified as potential profits from criminal activity — but by the time the money has been deemed potentially illegal, the criminals have often had it moved on. 'Criminals are far ahead' Cops and courts clawed back £243million thought to have been made from offences such as fraud, theft and money laundering — 30 per cent less than in 2022/23. In the last five years, an average of just 16 per cent of funds and assets identified as proceeds of theft, and made subject to confiscation orders, have been paid out as compensation after being recovered. Our stats show only around five per cent of fraud proceeds are ever paid back, while between 2021 and 2022, just 0.07 per cent of drug funds were paid out as compensation. During the same period, £642million of cash identified, seized or frozen by cops remains unrecovered. Our figures show the amount of compensation from proceeds of crime paid back to victims has collapsed by 43 per cent in five years. 'Hitman' fears after Brit husband murdered alongside wife in French holiday home worked to track down money launderers The total handed back to victims plunged from £31million in 2019 to £17.5million in the year to April 2024. Sources stressed that not all offences covered by the act, such as drug smuggling, have victims who can be compensated. Most of the recovered cash is split between the Treasury, courts and police. Insiders revealed some criminal bosses have paid thousands in upfront school fees for their children, which can never be recovered. Many more have bought up property abroad or purchased luxury watches, trainers or obscure cryptocurrencies to evade UK authorities. Former Met Police detective Peter Bleksley said: 'Criminals are often very far ahead of the police when they embrace new technology and ways of hiding money. Law enforcement have been notoriously slow and largely ineffective at recovering the proceeds of crime. 'Some criminals need to be publicly seen as being destitute. Until that happens, there is no deterrent.' Last year, the National Crime Agency said that posh Harrow School, in North West London, may have unknowingly raked in hundreds of thousands of pounds from firms that were part of a money-laundering network. The Harrow Development Trust, which finances the school's projects, was allegedly paid £500,000 in 2014 from the Latvian bank account of a British Virgin Islands company that investigators believe was channelling the criminal profits of rogue Azerbaijani banker Jahangir Hajiyev, who was jailed for 15 years in his home country in 2016. The money was used for his two children's private education. The NCA believes his wife Zamira's jewellery collection, including a £1.2million Cartier ring, had been bought with money plundered from the Azerbaijan National Bank. Zamira, 61, was given back the jewels after she agreed to forfeit 70 per cent of her £14million Knightsbridge mansion and a golf club in Ascot worth more than £10.5million. And Sami Raja, a conman from Grays, Essex, is said to be among the convicted criminals who own property in Dubai. 'Recruit more expertise' Raja was convicted of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering in 2019 after his cold-calling scam tricked 130 victims into buying fake carbon credits. He and his four accomplices pocketed £2.4million. His victims included an 89-year-old British man who lost his £250,000 life savings. Raja, now 38, was brought back to the UK from Greece in 2020 to serve his eight-year sentence. In other cases, the Serious Fraud Office has focused on cryptocurrency. 6 6 6 The UK has seized £5billion of Bitcoin, making the Government one of the world's largest individual holders of the digital currency. Criminals have switched to rival digital coins that are harder to trace. Last year, Rolf Castell, 55, from Bristol, had £4,000 of cryptocurrency frozen, including £400 of Dogecoin — a currency started as a joke and promoted by Elon Musk. The maximum prison term for violating a POCA ruling is 14 years, but many crooks are happy to spend extra time in prison instead. £11m pad for wife BENT bank boss Jahangir Hajiyev was jailed in 2016 for 15 years in Azerbaijan and forced to repay £30million he had embezzled. In 2018, his wife Zamira was the first person to be targeted by an Unexplained Wealth Order in the UK. She was told to pay back the value of her £11.5million London home in 2020, but kept her jewellery collection. Mr Bleksley added: 'I was told a drug dealer was ordered to pay back £200,000 or do another two years. 'In his mind, that's £100k a year to sit in prison. He decided to serve the extra two years.' Former security minister Sir John Hayes said: 'We need to recruit more expertise, and if necessary, we need to have further laws.' A Serious Fraud Office spokesman said: 'We will always seek to compensate victims wherever assets are recoverable.'
