Man who sold bank details to launder cash avoids a jail term

By Brion Hoban

A man who sold the details to his bank account which was then used to launder €10,000 has avoided a jail term after spending the weekend in custody.

Noah Abdurahmanov (25), who is originally from Chechnya, sold his details for €200 which he used to pay for flights back to there.

Abdurahmanov with an address at Mayfield Park, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of the proceeds of criminal conduct within the state on July 12, 2018. He has no previous convictions.

Judge Martin Nolan heard evidence last Thursday and had remanded Abdurahmanov in custody until today’s date.

Passing sentence today, Judge Nolan said he had remanded Abdurahmanov in custody to think about and experience what prison was like because that is his future if he reoffends.

He said money laundering was not a victimless crime, third parties were stolen from and serious criminals profited to a great degree. He said Abdurahmanov had helped for little reward for himself.

Judge Nolan sentenced Abdurahmanov to two years imprisonment which he suspended in full.

During the previous sentencing hearing, Detective Garda Kevin Bowen told Noel Devitt BL, prosecuting, that a woman made payment of €10,000 on behalf of a construction company to a tiling company for work they had done.

Det Gda Bowen said this woman was later contacted by the tiling company who said they had not been paid. The money had in fact been transferred to the bank account of the accused man.

The detective said the email address of the tiling company had been compromised.

In interview with gardaí, Abdurahmanov said he had sold a bank card and bank details to a person he had met on Snapchat. He said he knew what he was doing was wrong.

The court heard that the money was immediately withdrawn from the account via ATMs and that it was also electronically transferred to three other accounts. The money has not been recovered.

Kieran Kelly BL, defending, said his client received €200 for selling his card and bank details. He said family issues propelled him to return to Chechnya to live with his uncle and he did not have the means to pay to go back.

Mr Kelly said his client used the money to buy flights back to Chechnya. He said his client, who originally came to this country in 2009 and became a citizen in 2020, has since returned and lives with his mother.

Counsel said his client accepts he was “entirely reckless” in what he did.

Judge Nolan said he had “no doubt” Abdurahmanov knew when he gave his card details that they would be “used in such a fashion”. He said the accused therefore had “a level of culpability” in that he “involved himself in this crime”.