The former head of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, Mr Frank Glacken, has a new role as a consultant to solicitors A&L Goodbody's money laundering unit. The unit advises clients on compliance with the laws governing money laundering.
Mr Glacken denies his new role is one of game-keeper turned poacher. He says the division, which claims to be the first of its kind in the Republic, is aimed at advising institutions and other designated bodies on how to comply with the Criminal Justice Act, 1994.
As chief superintendent of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, Mr Glacken was responsible for setting up the moneylaundering investigation unit. Money laundering is an "all crimes" offence which covers the proceeds of all criminal activity, including tax evasion.
"I'm very familiar with the system and the practical application of the legislation," he says, when asked what he could bring to his new role.
Mr Glacken and A&L Goodbody have designed programmes for financial institutions and their staff, briefing them on the legislation and detailing how to detect money laundering. He says it is estimated that $400 billion-$800 billion (€393 billion - €786 billion) is laundered worldwide every year.
The provisions of the Criminal Justice Act provide for co-operation internationally and sometimes the Department of Justice gets requests from overseas for information from institutions in the Republic. This requires a special sitting of the District Court where evidence is taken.
Mr Glacken says he can advise his new employers on what is required from institutions in the Republic when they are served with an order by police in other jurisdictions for production of material. There is a perception that money laundering applies to the proceeds of drugs only, but this is not so, he says. It applies to the proceeds from all criminal activities.
"The Criminal Justice Act brought huge cultural changes to Ireland," he says. "Until May 1995, you could open a bank account with no questions asked," he said. "Now you [the institution] are obliged to satisfy yourself as to where the funds are coming from."
Those opening bank accounts must also provide two forms of identification. And if the bank or building society is suspicious, it must report it to the Garda. Institutions are also obliged to train staff to identify suspicious transactions.
Mr Glacken admits it is very difficult for people to know what is a suspicious transaction. "Firstly, you must know your customer - it's the law. If they do something which is not in accordance with their normal transactions, it should raise a suspicion in your mind."
Another example, he says, is buying foreign currencies from "jurisdictions where one might have some views about their observance of the laws relating to money laundering itself".
Another example is selling goods to a country which would not normally buy such goods. Other suspicious transactions can include cashing in insurance policies early and, of course, buying property or other high value items such as cars and yachts with cash and selling them at a loss.
Overall, Mr Glacken believes that financial institutions are very careful about money laundering. He says they know that by becoming associated with it, albeit unwittingly, their reputations will be tarnished and they may face fines or possibly imprisonment. "After all," he says, "if you don't have your name, what have you?"
