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Irish Children as Money Mules

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  • 12-04-2021 6:01pm
    #1
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭


    I haven't seen a separate thread on this topic so apologies if covered already.

    Quite a sad article in todays Indo, about a father witnessing his school going son being arrested questioned and fingerprinted after allegedly allowing his bank account to be used for the purpose of money laundering (A crime that brings quite a severe penalty even if it's simply assisting the act of money laundering)

    It's predicted that up to 700 arrests will take place over coming months, in Ireland.

    What got me was the age profile- many are 18-25 year age bracket but there's also a significant percentage of arrested to date (something like 40% from one report) who are under 18, both male and female.

    Apparently school kids and students are targeted via social media to loan out their bank accounts in return for a few hundred euro- sher what could go wrong?

    While i've no doubt, some of these people new well what they were doing, for the younger ones, naivety has probably played a major role, and yes, a bit of greed too.

    Those working in the financial services industry will know all about the Money Laundering and Counter-terorist financing act, and it's major penalties upon conviction, it's not something I'd say, these kids were in any way aware of, or indeed the implications of what they were doing.

    Interested to hear if people have had approaches from the mobsters behind all of these approaches on social media and how convincing do they sound?

    Any parents of school going kids, no harm in getting acquainted with all of this emphasising to your children how important it is not to share bank account details with anyone.



    https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/i-will-never-forget-seeing-him-being-fingerprinted-in-his-school-uniform-father-whose-son-was-arrested-as-suspected-money-mule-40301604.html

    Over 700 predicted arrests in coming months- sorry most of this article behind paywall
    https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/arrests-happening-on-a-daily-basis-gardai-planning-to-make-700-arrests-of-money-mules-40301602.html


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    #2
    Atlantic Dawn
    Registered Users Posts: 82,819 ✭✭✭✭Atlantic Dawn
    M


    It's really damaging to their ability to set up a bank account again, they will be on watchlists for a long time.


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    #3
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Atlantic Dawn wrote: »
    It's really damaging to their ability to set up a bank account again, they will be on watchlists for a long time.

    Also things like working visas, certain jobs/occupations.

    The profile of money mules in the past would have typically been drug addicts owing a debt, people trafficked and also maybe owing a "debt", other lower level criminals and where the criminals themselves were foreign nationals, they would have tended to recruit from their own communities- with so many social media channels now, obviously they're casting their nets much further.


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    #4
    Notmything
    Registered Users Posts: 1,053 ✭✭✭Notmything


    Work with families and young people, this is becoming more and more common.

    And it's not just the families in the lower social classes either, kids and adolescents from better off families are targeted as them having money wouldn't be seen as unusual.


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    #5
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Notmything wrote: »
    Work with families and young people, this is becoming more and more common.

    And it's not just the families in the lower social classes either, kids and adolescents from better off families are targeted as them having money wouldn't be seen as unusual.

    Certainly in terms of the school kids being targeted, I just see that as another form of child abuse, similar to local gangs recruiting kids to store drugs and the like.
    I hope these particular kids receive a level of understanding by the authorities- I think the arrests are inevitable given what's in the legislation and the seriousness of the crime and also the actual bank account transaction evidence, but hopefully the legal process treats them with a level of understanding and compassion- the legislators didn't have Irish TY students in their sights when drafting these laws.


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    #6
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,167 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Any parents of school going kids, no harm in getting acquainted with all of this emphasising to your children how important it is not to share bank account details with anyone.

    Have a dual access account until 16yrs, after that they should have enough cop that there's no free money.


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    #7
    Batattackrat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 222 ✭✭Batattackrat


    Money at a young age is hard to turn down and most probably wouldn't understand the consequences.

    If the young person had no previous convictions hopefully probation act will be applied.


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    #8
    Notmything
    Registered Users Posts: 1,053 ✭✭✭Notmything


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    Certainly in terms of the school kids being targeted, I just see that as another form of child abuse, similar to local gangs recruiting kids to store drugs and the like.
    I hope these particular kids receive a level of understanding by the authorities- I think the arrests are inevitable given what's in the legislation and the seriousness of the crime and also the actual bank account transaction evidence, but hopefully the legal process treats them with a level of understanding and compassion- the legislators didn't have Irish TY students in their sights when drafting these laws.

    Not personally aware of any cases being prosecuted as yet. But only a matter of time.


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    #9
    mariaalice
    Registered Users Posts: 12,504 ✭✭✭✭mariaalice


    This has been going on for a few years I doubt the students don't know it's risky but how risky is another story. I know someone who works in AML.

    Even the most gormless teenager would get suspicious if someone asked them could they use their bank account.

    It might also be to pay for drug debts by letting the dealer use their bank account.

    That's why the first question a parent who catches a teen smoking weed is, how are they going to pay for their drugs.


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    #10
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 8,856 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    mariaalice wrote: »
    This has been going on for a few years I doubt the students don't know it's risky but how risky is another story. I know someone who works in AML.

    Even the most gormless teenager would get suspicious if someone asked them could they use their bank account.

    It might also be to pay for drug debts by letting the dealer use their bank account.

    That's why the first question a parent who catches a teen smoking weed is, how are they going to pay for their drugs.

    You seem to be quite wise to this - pity it wasn’t publicised and educated more in schools over the last few years, or maybe it was?

    I can understand the drug debt angle but I would have thought it would be low enough numbers and much older people-I think given the numbers now and age profiles, it appears to be a non-drug related “fad” activity that will leave quite a level of heartbreak for the parents no less the kids


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