Bank official reported customer, court told

A bank official reported a customer to the bank's money-laundering section when he discovered her passport was out of date and…

A bank official reported a customer to the bank's money-laundering section when he discovered her passport was out of date and she was not known at the address she had given, Cork Circuit Criminal Court has been told.

His suspicion was increased when she indicated she would be withdrawing large amounts of cash, the court was told yesterday.

"We are obliged to be comfortable with every transaction over £10,000," Mr Denis O'Sullivan told the State's first money-laundering trial.

Before the court are Ms Maria Bernadette Jehle (47) and Mr Gunther Hollman (45), both of The Priory, Ballymore, Cobh, Co Cork, who each deny two charges of handling money knowing it was the proceeds of other people's criminal activity.

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Mr O'Sullivan, manager of the TSB branch in Midleton, Co Cork, said Ms Jehle, a Swiss national, opened a cash-flow account at the bank on April 16th last year, producing her driver's licence and passport as ID. She gave her address in Switzerland plus an address c/o The Commodore Hotel, Cobh.

"I checked at the Commodore and they didn't know anyone of that name," said Mr O'Sullivan. "Because of this, and because her passport was out of date, I filled in the relevant form and sent it to our money-laundering officer in Dublin."

On May 16th, £90,348 was lodged in the account, following a fax message that DM235,000 had been sent from a Peter Jehle (son of the defendant). This information came from City Bank, the TSB's international clearing house.

Ms Jehle withdrew £80,000 in cash on May 16th.

Asked by Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, for Ms Jehle, if he knew the gardai were outside the bank on that date, the witness said "No".

Asked if he had notified the Garda, he replied: "Absolutely not."

He agreed he was aware Ms Jehle had told the bank she intended setting up a business involving horses.

Sgt John Noonan told the court he acted as an interpreter for Mr Gunther Hollman after the defendant's arrest with Ms Jehle on May 16th. "I was there to help him. He knew that. I took no active part in the investigation," he told Mr Jim O'Mahoney, for Mr Hollman.

He made "100 per cent certain" that Mr Hollman understood exactly what was going on.

Judge Patrick Moran told members of the jury that the trial, now in its seventh week, could last between another two and three weeks.