Courts / Dublin / Report
Ukrainian refugee has €500k money laundering sentence more than tripled
Summary
Liudmyla Budash, 46, a Ukrainian refugee, was found with €500,000 in cash and pleaded guilty to money laundering at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in July 2024. Judge Elva Duffy originally sentenced her to 15 months, reduced to two years, with nine months suspended. The Court of Appeal quashed the original term and, on 5 February 2025, Mr Justice Patrick MacGrath resentenced her to four and a half years in prison. He noted her active, premeditated role in moving large sums, her lack of prior convictions, and her status as a mother of three. The headline sentence was set at seven years before a two‑and‑a‑half‑year reduction, resulting in the final term. The case involved a Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau operation that seized the cash in Temple Bar on 12 April 2024. The appeal argued the initial sentence was too lenient, citing the seriousness of the offence and the amount involved.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Ukrainian refugee has €500k money laundering sentence more than tripled. Charges or matters: a single offence of money laundering having been sent forward on a signed plea. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- July 2024 Incident
- April 12, 2024 Incident
- February 2022 Incident
- 2025-02-05 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: a single offence of money laundering having been sent forward on a signed plea (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: The headline sentence had a "knock-on effect" on the final sentence ultimately imposed, which the court also found was "too low", the judge added. Dominic McGinn SC, representing Budash, said the sentence imposed did not represent a substantial departure from what would be appropriate.
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