A Dublin woman has joined her former partner in pleading guilty at the Special Criminal Court to laundering money believed to be the proceeds of criminal activity.
Lisa O'Hara (33), with an address at Wheatfield Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, appeared before the non-jury court on Monday to plead guilty to an offence under Section 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2010 relating to money laundering.
O'Hara pleaded guilty to concealing or disguising the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement or ownership of money lodged to a Bank of Ireland account in the name of James Walsh and Lisa O'Hara between January 1st, 2015 and December 31st, 2015, at a location within the State.
Earlier this month, Walsh (37) pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to laundering €62,000 in crime cash between June 1st, 2016, and January 31st, 2017, relating to sums discharged and owing to a building contractor.
Cash in wardrobe
Walsh, also of Wheatfield Avenue, is also charged with stashing €19,000 in a wardrobe at his home. When read out by the registrar at a previous sitting of the court, it took over an hour to put the 44 charges against Walsh and O'Hara to the accused.
The 44 charges all come under Section 7 of Criminal Justice Act 2010. These alleged offences all occurred within the State between January 1st, 2015, and February 28th, 2017, both dates inclusive.
In all, Walsh is charged with 24 non-scheduled offences and Ms O'Hara is charged with 20 non-scheduled offences. All the charges relate to money laundering and terrorist financing within the State and include allegedly using crime cash for a deposit on a house.
On Monday, O'Hara only spoke to answer “guilty” when the single charge was read to her by the registrar.
Both accused are also charged with converting, transferring, handling, acquiring, possessing, and using money credited to a Bank of Ireland account on various dates between January 1st, 2015 and December 31st, 2015, within the State, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the property, in the name of James Walsh and Lisa O'Hara, was the proceeds of criminal conduct.
The two are further charged with concealing or disguising the true nature or source of money credited to Palmerstown Credit Union account on various dates between January 1st, 2015 and December 31st, 2015, within the State, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the property, in each of their respective names, was the proceeds of criminal conduct.
House deposit
In addition, both accused are charged with possessing, using, converting, transferring or handling cash to the value of €60,000, using it as a deposit for the purchase of a house at Wheatfield Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, on various dates between June 1st, 2016 and January 31st, 2017, within the State, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the said property was the proceeds of criminal conduct.
Furthermore, Walsh is charged with concealing the location of cash to the value of €19,000 within a wardrobe at Wheatfield Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, on January 24th, 2017, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the property was the proceeds of criminal conduct.
A previous sitting of the three-judge court consented to O'Hara's bail on her own bond of €10,000 and subject to a number of conditions, including the requirement to provide a phone number to gardaí at which she can be contacted and to surrender her passport and not to apply for travel documents.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, adjourned the case to Monday, July 19th, 2021, when both Ms O'Hara and Walsh will appear in court.
