Courts / Louth / Report
'Mule herder' who recruited people for €331k money laundering scheme is jailed
Summary
Innocent Aigbekaen, 31, of Dundalk, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two money‑laundering counts involving €75,816 and €60,989 between April 2016 and October 2017. Garda detective Jennifer Connolly described a scheme that ran for 18 months and laundered about €331,000. Judge Pauline Codd said Aigbekaen was a "mule herder" who recruited people, including his wife and co‑workers, to use their bank accounts for the illicit proceeds. He was sentenced to four years in prison, with the final three years suspended for three years on strict conditions. The sentence was reduced from an initial headline of five years because of his guilty plea and long employment history. Aigbekaen's defence noted he had not been involved in any other offences since the offence, apart from a cannabis case that was struck out. The court accepted that he had taken responsibility for his role in the scheme.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'Mule herder' who recruited people for €331k money laundering scheme is jailed. Charges or matters: two counts of money laundering involving €75,816 and €60,989 on dates between April 2016 and October 2017. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2024-11-04 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: two counts of money laundering involving €75,816 and €60,989 on dates between April 2016 and October 2017 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: She set a headline sentence of five years before taking into account Aigbekaen's plea of guilty and long history of employment. Judge Codd imposed a sentence of four years in prison.
Places mentioned
Topics
Related court reports
- Worker sacked over punch-up with takeaway driver wins job back
- Legal first sees miscarriage of justice certificate for IRA membership conviction quashed
- Lorry driver who imported €1m in cannabis jailed for five years
- Explosive device allegedly stored in National Museum at Collins' Barracks
- On-bail home invader who dragged car owner along ground has sentence cut
- Amateur fighter who 'brutally killed' allegedly abusive mother - kicking her to death and stepping on her 'lifeless body' as he left her to die - gets 6.5 years
If a fact, identity, locality or legal outcome needs review, email the newsroom with this report's details prefilled.
Email a correction request