Lisa O'Hara and James Walsh plead guilty to money laundering

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

Lisa O'Hara and James Walsh pleaded guilty to money laundering offences. The proceedings were reported on 19 July 2021. Mr Justice Tony Hunt said they would be sentenced at the Special Criminal Court the following week.

The report said the former partners had laundered more than €200,000 in cash from the Kinahan organised crime group. Gardaí found €19,000 in a wardrobe when they raided their home in Clondalkin, Dublin. Financial documents showed that €136,000 had been lodged in bank and credit union accounts over three years. The report also identified a €60,000 cash deposit on the house and €62,000 paid in cash to a builder for renovations.

Walsh told gardaí he had given O'Hara money to lodge in the accounts and pay the builder. O'Hara told gardaí she did not know about the cash in the house and thought Walsh went out to work as she did. The court was told she accepted she had been reckless in not asking about the money and was deeply remorseful. The report said she was unaware of and not involved in the underlying organised crime activity and had no previous convictions.

Walsh was serving a nine-year prison sentence for possession of 15 of the organised crime group's firearms. The court heard that he had cut ties with organised crime.