Anna Stewart receives suspended two-year prison term for money laundering

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Anna Stewart was given a suspended two-year prison term after pleading guilty to possessing the proceeds of crime. The sentence was conditional on her keeping the peace and being of good behaviour for one year.

At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, the case concerned €6,000 taken from a Kildare resident’s bank account in three transactions. The victim was reimbursed, and the money was traced to Stewart’s account. The court heard that she did not take the money but allowed criminals to use her account; she received no money, though some of her drug debt was reduced.

The court heard that Stewart had become addicted to cocaine after a relationship ended and was pressured by dealers over her drug debt. Garda evidence was that they offered to reduce the debt if she gave them access to her bank account, and made a further serious threat. The judge noted that gardaí accepted it was a real threat.