Gangsters are moving away from robberies to online frauds – because they are less risky, a senior Garda has warned.
“They’re moving to easier methods of making large volumes of money,” Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly told TDs and senators yesterday.
The commissioner, who is in charge of the force’s fight against serious and organised crime, told the Oireachtas joint committee on finance that scammers stole a massive €67 million from Irish businesses and punters in 2021 alone – in all types of high tech fraud.
Read More: Ireland weather: June Bank Holiday weekend set to be a scorcher
And he revealed that Irish gangsters, who previously carried out armed robberies to make their money were now turning to fraud as a way of getting rich – without the risks.
The commissioner said: “These groups are hugely organised.
“This isn’t a couple of people in their box rooms.
“These are highly organised groups which actually have hierarchical structures.
“We know exactly how they work and how detailed they are at each level. This is a huge business for them.
“And because of the risk levels of it, we've seen even some of our own indigenous criminals moving from what they would have previously done into these easier types of fraud.
“If you look at something like cash in transit attacks, which were huge in the 80s, 90s, we haven't seen a big armed robbery cash and transit attack in a long time.
“It's because criminals have found easier ways to make money and not put themselves under that risk.”
He added online fraud meant criminals did not have to worry about being caught in the act – like they would if they were carrying out robberies.
He said: “They know we have things like the armed support units, we have intelligence operations, we have surveillance and all that.
“They’re moving to easier methods of making large volumes of money.
We’ve actually seen that – people who were who were traditional organised crime, involved in violence… now we've seen the movement into these areas.”
The commissioner also said the numbers of cases of romance fraud – where Irish people fall for scammers who pretend they are in love with them – has slumped, but crypto and business fraud has increased.
He said: “Investment fraud is up - that's when people are forced to invest in schemes often which are non-existent, particularly around crypto. So we see that they're significantly up.”
But he also said ATM skinning fraud had practically disappeared in Ireland because gardai have targeted specific gangs involved in it.
He said: “Romance fraud is down. So, again, a lot of that will depend on the action we've taken.
“I think a really good example around economic crime is ATM skimming.
“That's practically non-existent now in the country.
“And that's because of several large operations that we ran and we arrested whole groups that were involved in this.”
He also conceded that a lot of cash lost to fraud would never be recovered – but gardai have got cash back from all over the world.
He said: “The reality is and I think we all know in this type of crime, quite often those funds aren’t recovered.
I can’t estimate a percentage on it, but it would be a significant amount that isn’t recovered.”
But when asked if money was ever recovered, he replied: “yes, absolutely.
“It is really important that people come to us quickly.
“We have powers to freeze accounts, we have the ability to speak to colleagues abroad.
“I think there is a perception out there that once money leaves the jurisdiction it’s gone.
“But we have had investigations where money has left the jurisdiction and we have been able to freeze it and return it – as far away actually as Hong Kong.”
He also said Ireland had anti-economic fraud legislation on a par with most EU countries, and many gangs were afraid to operate here in case they were caught.
He said: “If we look at the legislation here, we are on a part with most of our peers around the EU.
“In fact, some of our legislation is looked at quite enviously by our colleagues when we meet them abroad, particularly on money laundering.
“We know from intelligence that there are certain crime groups that don’t want to come here, to operate here.
“They are weighing up the risks where they should go and we know in particular chime areas of economic crime, we know it’s a fear of the investigations here and the potential sentences that they may get.
“They are going to go to the places where they can operate with the least risk.”
READ NEXT
- Moment car smashes into Roscommon garden wall before driver walks from vehicle caught on camera
- Bloom 2023: Festival organisers promise it won’t be 'bigger' but vowed it will be 'better'
- Ireland's top music promoter already securing A-list acts for festivals next year
- Inmate found dead in Ireland's most secure prison wing
- Wanted Drogheda feud gangster caught on camera - refereeing bare knuckle fight on UK golf green
Get news updates direct to your inbox by signing up to our daily newsletter here
