Psychic-turned-financier sent for trial on fraud offences

Astrologer and tarot reader, Simon Gold, 53, with an address at Cartontroy, Athlone, Co Westmeath appeared again at Cloverhill District Court having been refused bail earlier.

Mr Gold was charged with money laundering by allegedly possessing €800,000 in proceeds of criminal conduct at a bank in Dublin on October 19, 2012.

A book of evidence was served on him by gardaí.

Judge Alan Mitchell acceded to the Director of Public Prosecution's request to make a direction sending him forward for trial on indictment to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court where Mr Gold will face his next hearing on October 19, 2018.

After the return for trial order was finalised, bail was denied.

Mr Simon Gold, represented by Niall Storan BL and solicitor Brian Keenan, was granted legal aid to include representation of senior counsel at his trial.

In addition to the money laundering charge he was also charged with deception, that between February 18 and March 9, 2011, he induced a named man to transfer €28,000 to an account of a named financial consultancy firm.

He has three other counts of deception with charges that on other dates in 2011 he induced three other people to transfer £30,000, £10,000 and another sum of £10,000 in sterling to the account of the same financial consultancy firm.

The businessman was also charged with having false instruments: one blank bank draft and six other bank drafts with various sums, totalling €55m, payable to three individuals and a named financial advice business.

He is charged that he had these drafts in his custody in Delvin, Co Westmeath on October 22, 2012.

He also had another charge of having another false instrument on a date in 2014 at a location in Co Leitrim: four sheets allegedly containing 360 removable holograms purporting to be AIB holograms.

The 53-year-old has not yet entered a plea to the charges.