Henry Alinta's money laundering conviction quashed

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

Henry Alinta had his money laundering conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal on 10 December 2019. The court ruled that the jury had been misdirected at Trim Circuit Criminal Court about the prosecution's burden of proof.

The conviction concerned the possession of cash alleged to be proceeds of criminal conduct. The court found that the trial judge's directions about statutory presumptions and the legal and evidential burdens were confusing and that the verdict could not stand.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and declined to order a retrial because Mr Alinta had served the sentence imposed on him. The judgment recorded that he had been sentenced to four years' imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended.