Jonathan Angbalu (25) was told by men he described as “the uncles” that he should not shake when trying to withdraw the money from his bank account “or they will cop on”.
Angbalu with an address at The View, Cnoc na Greine, Kilcullen, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to money laundering at Permanent TSB, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, on a date between March 1st, 2016 and March 24th, 2016. He has no previous convictions.
Garda Barry Moran told Monika Leech BL, prosecuting, that a cheque worth €9,000 which was sent out by market research company Millward Brown was intercepted and then altered.
Gda Moran said it was lodged in Angbalu's bank account after the cheque had been altered to read his name. The account was frozen when the offence came to light and €6,094.50 was returned to the company.
'The uncles'
Following his arrest, Angbalu told gardaí that he was approached by three Nigerian men in their 40s who asked to use his bank account in order to lodge money and then take it out again. He was told he would be paid €2,000 for the use of his account.
“Don't shake or anything when you take it out or they will cop on”, he was told by the men before he tried and failed to withdraw half of the money lodged in his account. He later withdrew €700 and gave it to the men.
Angbalu referred to the men as “the uncles” while identifying them on CCTV. He was never paid for the use of his account.
Gda Moran agreed with Karl Monaghan BL, defending, that his client thought everything was okay at the start, but later realised that the actions were fraudulent. H
Mr Monaghan said his client was “effectively duped” and was told by the men they had difficulty accessing their own bank accounts. He said his client was studying business management in London.
Angbalu brought €1,350 to court with him as an expression of his remorse.
Judge Pauline Codd sentenced Angbalu to 12 months imprisonment, but suspended the entirety of the sentence on strict conditions.
