A man who opened 18 different Irish bank accounts and assisted in the laundering of over €431,000 has been jailed for seven years.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Ovidiu Rizoiu (35), who was extradited from the Netherlands on foot of a European arrest warrant, pleaded guilty to five counts of money laundering and five counts of using a false document on dates between 2018 and 2020.
Passing the sentence on Friday, Judge Elma Sheahan said the aggravating factors were the seriousness of the offence in itself, the role of the accused in assisting a criminal organisation, the preplanning involved and that he has similar convictions from other jurisdictions.
The judge said she would consider the following as mitigation: his guilty plea, that he is an enhanced prisoner, that he is in custody in Ireland and does not have the support of his family, his personal circumstances and his apology and remorse.
Judge Sheahan set a global sentence of seven and a half years and suspended the final six months. She backdated this sentence to when he went into custody on this matter.
Detective Garda Jack Walsh told Edward Doocey BL, prosecuting, that the Garda National Crime Bureau (GNCB) were investigating a large organised crime group. The group would open numerous bank accounts in Ireland using false documents.
These accounts were used to hold funds that were the proceeds of criminal conduct.
In July 2019, gardaí and members of the GNCB obtained a search warrant for a house on Darby Road, Drumcondra.
Upon searching the property, six false identification documents in the form of Danish passports and driving licences were found. All of the identification documents had the same picture of Rizoiu but different names.
The court heard the investigation continued, and banking documents were sought from numerous banks throughout Ireland.
At the same time, Dutch authorities were conducting a similar investigation in which a Dutch national had been defrauded. Rizoiu, who was in custody in the Netherlands for similar offending, was interviewed by gardaí.
Upon serving a 20-month sentence, he was extradited to Ireland.
Rizoiu has no previous convictions in Ireland but has convictions of a similar nature in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.
Det Gda Walsh said that in total, Rizoiu opened 18 bank accounts in Ireland with a total of €431,618 being laundered via these accounts.
These funds came from bank accounts across Europe.
Some funds that had been transferred to these accounts were recalled, but the remaining money was disbursed via bank transfers and withdrawals.
Det Gda Walsh agreed with Dominic McGinn, SC, defending, that his client is a Romanian national who has no issues with drugs or alcohol.
McGinn said Rizoiu's guilty plea has clearly saved the State and the gardai the time and resources of what would have been a complex trial.
He noted that his client's pleas show his remorse.
Counsel said his client recognises the seriousness of this offending and knows that he deserves a prison sentence.
He said while in custody, Rizoiu has been engaging in education and is due to sit his Junior Cert next week and is also an enhanced prisoner.
He asked the court to take into account that his client has been in custody on this matter since December 14, 2024.
