Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan has said that Ireland is becoming a “financial Wild West.”
The Social Democrats’ financial spokesperson was speaking following a report from Investigate Europe, which found that a major licensed gambling operator, Soft2Bet, which operates in Ireland, has ties to a sprawling black market gambling empire.
The Dublin Bay North TD said the situation is “yet another scandal in Ireland’s financial system.”
O’Callaghan stated, “Irish licences were instrumental in giving legitimacy to an operation that facilitated illegal gambling, exploited vulnerable people, and enabled large-scale financial misconduct.”
“This is not an isolated failure. It is part of a pattern that has led Ireland to become a financial Wild West for criminals, corrupt dictators, and scammers.”
He noted that Transparency International Ireland has consistently highlighted the billions of euros in dark money that are flowing through the Irish financial services sector.
Highlights, cited by Transparency International Ireland, include dictators using the IFSC to wash money stolen from their own people, and a recent High Court case which heard of investers being cheated out of €4 million through another Irish-based financial scam.
“In this case, the Canadian/Israeli scammers used Ireland’s lax regulations to create an opaque company structure to hide their criminal activity. The government cannot continue to look the other way,” he said.
O’Callaghan said that the government must “properly fund” the financial intelligence unit, along with the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.
“These essential investigative and enforcement bodies have had their hands tied for years by chronic under-resourcing.
“Ireland is facing a serious risk of reputational damage, and the Government cannot continue to bury its head in the sand,” he said.