A Swiss woman who was the first person to be convicted in the State of money-laundering yesterday failed to have her five-year sentence reduced. Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, for Maria Bernadetta Jehle (50), applied to the Court of Criminal Appeal to release her from prison now and suspend the remainder of her sentence, imposed at Cork Circuit Criminal Court in October 1998.
Jehle has served two years and nine months of her sentence. Given normal remission, she could expect to be released in a year. The 47-day trial was the longest fraud case in a Circuit Court. Jehle had protested her innocence throughout. The court was told yesterday that Jehle was depressed and as a foreigner found a term in an Irish prison difficult.
In November last year, a 19th century mansion on 11 acres near Cobh owned by Jehle fetched more than £1 million after it was sold under a court confiscation order. The court was told yesterday that the two victims of the money-laundering fraud, a French national and a German national, had been compensated for their loss, including interest and costs.
Rejecting her appeal yesterday, Mr Justice Fennelly, sitting with Mr Justice Kelly and Mr Justice Smyth, said Jehle's trial was remarkable, being the first prosecution under the 1994 Money Laundering Act and possibly the first such case of its kind in Europe.
The judge said the court believed suspension of the remainder of her sentence was not warranted. She could have received a sentence of up to 14 years. In imposing the five-year penalty, the Circuit Court judge had taken into account her previous good reputation and the fact that she was a foreigner who would have to serve her sentence here.
If anything, the sentence was moderate, and the court would therefore dismiss her appeal, the judge said.