Garda outlines dangers of allowing your bank account to be used by criminal gangs

As students return to universities and colleges, gardaí are asking everyone to be aware of the dangers associated with  allowing criminal gangs to use your bank account. 

Speaking on Highland Radio, this morning, Garda Seán Sweeney said: “A money mule transfers money illegally on behalf of other people … however, they are complicit if they recklessly allow their bank account to be used to launder the proceeds of crime.”

Up to 1,000 ‘money mule’ transactions moved through banks accounts in 2020 – New figures released today by FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI)... https://t.co/04Ql7aayYA

— Irish Tech News (@Irish_TechNews) September 21, 2020

A report by Conor Lally which was published in the Irish Times, in March last, reads: “Some 700 suspected “money mules” have been identified in the Republic in the last year, many of them teenagers or in their early 20s and recruited on college campuses and in schools, sports clubs and workplaces – but mostly online.”

Garda Sweeney said that students are targeted and accounts are used to launder thousands of euro in exchange for a few hundred euro. At times, people can be unaware of the repercussions of their actions when they undertake to launder money. 

Garda Sweeney warned people to never allow people to let their account be used in such a manner and not to disclose your personal information to anyone. 

“Never send or receive money on behalf of someone else and if it sounds too good to be true it most likely is,” he said. 

A conviction for money laundering can carry a conviction of up to fourteen years imprisonment. 

The conviction can have serious consequences for anyone hoping to start a business or a career and live abroad. It can also affect your credit rating and access to your own bank account. 

At times, criminal gangs use social media to recruit mules.  

Parents and teachers should have a conversation with young people about the scams and warn them as they would be “very easy to find” once gardaí began investigating, gardaí say. Det Supt Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) said young people were being enticed with offers of “easy money” but they were soon identified in criminal investigations and charged with money laundering.

Investigations into youth attack in Stranorlar are ongoing