Money mule recruiter jailed for role in €100k invoice redirection scam

A 27-year-old man from Letterkenny, County Donegal, has been sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his role in laundering proceeds from invoice redirection scams. Adeleke Adelani pleaded guilty to laundering €100,397 in criminal cash during November 2019 and January 2020, and to further money laundering offences between October 2018 and February 2021. The court heard that €124,000 passed through his bank accounts, with only €3,500 legitimately accounted for. Gardaí found approximately 50 images of other people's bank account details on his mobile phone. The investigation involved thefts from a Cork homeowner, a Mayo-based poultry company, and an Italian firm totalling approximately €123,000. When questioned about the funds, Adelani claimed he had earned money cutting hair during Covid lockdown. Judge Martin Nolan stated the defendant was "up to his neck in money laundering" and that his role involved procuring bank accounts to facilitate the thefts. The sentence is to run consecutively to an existing custodial term.