After a trial lasting almost 10 weeks, Maria Bernadetta Jehle (47), a Swiss woman accused in relation to money-laundering, has been convicted on two charges.
The jury, seven men and five women, reached a unanimous verdict at Cork Circuit Criminal Court after nearly 8 1/2 hours of deliberation which included an overnight stay in a Cork hotel.
Jehle, of The Priory, Cobh, Co Cork, was remanded in custody to October 5th for sentencing after a defence application for continued bail was refused by Judge Patrick Moran.
"Ms Jehle stands convicted of two very serious charges involving a substantial amount of money, and it would be most unusual to grant bail in the circumstances," he said.
The trial, the first of its kind in the State, was the longest in the history of Cork Circuit Criminal Court. Jehle was convicted of handling DM500,000 (about £200,000) and, in a separate charge, of handling £80,000, knowing the money was the proceeds of other persons' crime.
After conviction, Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, defending, asked for sentence to be adjourned so that probation reports could be prepared.
Ms Maureen Clark SC, prosecuting, said the State would be looking for confiscation of the money involved in the crimes. "I am new to these confiscation orders and will have to take instructions," she said.
The question of confiscation will be dealt with on October 5th when Jehle is sentenced.
Judge Moran thanked the jury for its attendance, saying it had been "very attentive and diligent" and he was very grateful. "I hope you can now make some holiday plans," he said.
He exempted the members from jury service for life on being advised by Mr Don McCarthy, for the State, that he could do so.
The case centred on frauds perpetrated on a German hotelier and businessman and a French dentist, who each wanted loans for business projects. They were introduced to Mr Sven Uwe Palisch (27), an East German national, and Mr Peter Jehle (29), the defendant's son, by seemingly respectable bankers.
The pair, described by the State as "crooks", set up meetings at which loans were apparently agreed, but when Mr Klaus Jurgen Wiese, the hotelier, and Mr Patric Gueniot, the dentist, handed over substantial deposits, the money vanished. They never saw it again.
The money reappeared in bank accounts held in the AIB in Cahir, Co Tipperary, and the TSB in Midleton, Co Cork, by Ms Jehle who, the State claimed, was laundering it for the fraudsters. She denied this, saying the money was intended for genuine business projects of hers and she did not suspect it was dishonestly obtained.