Seven-year sentence for Romanian national in €431,000 money laundering scheme

A man extradited from the Netherlands received a seven-year prison term for opening 18 fraudulent Irish bank accounts to launder criminal proceeds.

Seven-year sentence for Romanian national in €431,000 money laundering scheme

A man has been handed a seven-year custodial term for operating a network of bogus bank accounts used to clean over €430,000 in criminal proceeds.

Ovidiu Rizoiu, 35, admitted guilt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on ten charges spanning 2018 to 2020, including laundering cash and using forged paperwork. Dutch authorities had detained him on a European arrest warrant after he completed a separate prison stretch there for comparable crimes.

Garda National Crime Bureau detectives were probing a criminal network that established multiple accounts in the Republic using fake identity papers. A raid on a Drumcondra house in July 2019 uncovered six counterfeit Danish passports and licences, each displaying Rizoiu's face but carrying different identities.

Banking records showed Rizoiu had set up 18 accounts in total, funnelling €431,618 through them. The cash came from accounts across the continent. Some portions were recovered after recall requests, but the rest was moved out via withdrawals and transfers.

Rizoiu carries prior records for like offences in the Netherlands, Germany and Britain, though none on the island of Ireland. His barrister highlighted that he has no substance abuse issues, has expressed regret, and has been studying while incarcerated.

Judge Elma Sheahan set the overall punishment at seven and a half years, with the last six months suspended. The term was counted from the date Rizoiu was first remanded in custody here.

Source: Dublin People

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