The High Court has confirmed a Central Bank sanction imposed on a credit union found to be in breach of anti-money laundering legislation.
High Court president Mr Justice David Barniville on Monday confirmed a fine of more than €36,000 imposed on Swilly Mulroy Credit Union, Co Donegal.
The judge noted the credit union accepted there were breaches of certain provisions of the legislation and it admitted a number of contraventions between 2014 and 2021.
The issue came to light during an inspection by the Central Bank’s anti-money laundering division in 2022.
RM Block
According to the Central Bank, its investigation found that Swilly Mulroy Credit Union operated a practice of soliciting and accepting cash from depositors, the majority of which did not hold accounts with the credit union.
This money would then be electronically transferred to a branch of a local bank, without first being deposited in an account in the customer’s name at Swilly Mulroy.
The Central Bank said that as a result, Swilly Mulroy failed to conduct the necessary anti-money laundering checks on the depositors and the transactions.
The probe found that Swilly Mulroy operated in this way between January 2nd, 2014, and June 30th, 2021, during which time it processed €8,751,694 in deposits from 2,329 cash lodgements.
The High Court heard that a new management team in 2021 ceased the practice.
The judge said the monetary penalty of €36,273 will have to be paid within seven days.
