Man charged over allegedly laundering €447,000 from invoice fraud scheme

A man has been charged over allegedly laundering more than €447,000 in criminal funds through a Co Tipperary bank account five years ago, after being extradited to Dublin from Britain on Wednesday.

Zahid Ahmed Begum (49) was charged with possession and laundering proceeds of crime amounting to €273,135, that was in an Allied Irish Bank (AIB) account in Co Tipperary on October 19th, 2017.

He was also charged with possession and laundering €174,201 that was in the AIB account in Co Tipperary on November 3rd, 2017.

In total there were 53 charges against Mr Begum, which related funds from an alleged invoice redirection fraud scheme being transferred into the AIB account, which were then transferred out to other accounts.

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Defence solicitor Peter Connolly said his client was arrested at Heathrow airport in London two months ago over the charges and was denying the allegations.

His arrest in Britain was on foot of a Trade and Co-Operation Agreement Warrant, which replaced the European Arrest Warrant when Britain has left the European Union.

On Wednesday he was extradited to Ireland where he was arrested at Dublin Airport, before being brought before a special court sitting at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Thursday.

Detective Shane Fitzsimons, of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, told the hearing he would be objecting if any application was made for bail.

A book of evidence is to be prepared, with Det Fitzsimons adding the case was a “very complex” one.

The charges alleged significant sums were transferred into the AIB bank account on occasions in October and November 2017, after which point they were disbursed to other bank accounts in the UK.

Mr Begum is believed to have been living in Birmingham, England, in recent years, according to the charges.

Mr Connolly said his client had worked part-time as a security guard in Britain for a number of years and had “effectively lost his job” over the criminal matter.

The case related to invoice redirection fraud and the solicitor said he had “some detective work” to carry out himself into the issue.

When he was arrested at Heathrow airport Mr Begum gave police the correct details about who he was, his solicitor told the court.

Mr Connolly made an application for free legal aid which was granted. He said he would need to arrange for a consultation with his client with an Urdu interpreter, a language spoken in Pakistan.

Mr Begum, who was wearing a blue sweater with a white shirt, had an interpreter present in court.

Judge John King remanded the accused in custody in Cloverhill Prison, in advance of a further court hearing on January 5th.