Housing crisis is crime target
Report says dirty cash is pouring into property
CRIMINALS may use Ireland’s housing crisis as a way to launder their dirty cash, security experts have warned.
SAR Consultancy said property ownership provides a veneer of respectability and legitimacy for illegal operations.
The security specialists’ report stated: “These price increases make it unaffordable for the average person to purchase property.
“Criminals seeking to launder money will only exacerbate the issue by adding another cash buyer to an already heated bidding war.
“Criminals often differ in the sense that they are generally less rational than normal buyers, as profit, value for money and liquidity are unlikely motivational factors.”
In recent months the Government has come under fire as so-called cuckoo investment funds buy up new houses, a move which has been met with hostility particularly from first-time buyers looking to get onto the property ladder.
Now the SAR report warns that property is an attractive target for individuals and groups looking to launder money, with expensive, high end houses often their target of choice.
Commercial property, such as restaurants and shops, also have an added benefit in that they can allow criminals to launder cash through dodgy business practices.
SAR warned that when criminals own a property and rent it out, they then start creating legitimate funds for themselves and when rents increase, it speeds up the laundering process.
They added: “Money laundering provides criminals with another tool in their arsenal to expand their operations.”
The Criminal Assets Bureau has had success in recent years tackling bogus companies such as Dublin-based LS Active Car Sales owned by Liam Byrne, a key man in the Kinahan cartel, which was raided in 2018.
And the security report urged the Government to devote more resources into tackling criminal investment in property.
It said: “Once criminals own a certain percentage of property in an area, their influence increases.”