This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBLIN 000936 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR POL AND LEGATT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015 
TAGS: PREL EFIN SOCI KCRM EI NIPP
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON IRA MONEY-LAUNDERING INVESTIGATION 
 
REF: A. STATE 104288 
 
     ¶B. DUBLIN 210 
     ¶C. SOFIA 1108 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Jonathan S. Benton; Reasons 1.4 
(B) and (D). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Irish criminal justice officials are 
convinced that pound sterling notes seized in Dublin and Cork 
in mid-February in an apparent IRA-tied money-laundering 
scheme was money stolen from Belfast's Northern Bank.  Police 
are attempting to establish forensic links between the 
seizures and robbery in order to bring charges by late 2005, 
with a court case to follow a year later.  Irish 
investigators continue to pursue a possible Bulgarian link to 
the money-laundering scheme, but are reluctant to provide 
details on exchanges with Bulgarian counterparts.  The 
Bulgarian Ambassador in Dublin denies any Bulgarian 
involvement and wishes that Ireland would close off this line 
of inquiry publicly.  Irish officials, more generally, remain 
concerned that IRA funds acquired through sophisticated 
investments are seeping into resources available for Sinn 
Fein's political activities in the Republic of Ireland.  Post 
expects that Irish officials will remain reticent on details 
of the money-laundering investigation until charges are 
filed.  End summary. 
 
Linking the Bank Robbery and Money Seizures 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) The roughly STG 3 million seized in Dublin and Cork 
the week of February 14 (ref B) is "beyond doubt" a portion 
of the STG 26.5 million stolen from Belfast's Northern Bank 
on December 20, 2004, according to Ken O'Leary and Michael 
Walsh, Assistant Secretary and Northern Ireland Section 
Chief, respectively, of the Department of Justice, Equality, 
and Law Reform (DOJ).  O'Leary related to Emboff the GOI's 
belief that up to 16 individuals questioned by Garda (police) 
in connection with the seizures were attempting to launder 
the stolen proceeds on behalf of the Provisional IRA (PIRA). 
This belief was based on information provided by Garda 
intelligence assets and by "walk-ins" who, in some instances, 
voluntarily turned over cash that they had been asked to hide 
(STG 300,000 in one case).  While intelligence pointed 
clearly to a money-laundering operation, the challenge was to 
build forensic ties between the money seized and the stolen 
Northern Bank notes in order to support a court conviction. 
O'Leary said that Garda, led by the Criminal Assets Bureau, 
were still attempting to establish forensic links through the 
tracking system used by the Northern Bank for bank note 
bundles in its possession at the time of December robbery. 
 
¶3.  (C) If such ties could be established before autumn, the 
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), James Hamilton, would 
be in a position to bring money-laundering charges by late 
2005 against a number of those questioned, said O'Leary.  (To 
date, no one has been charged, except a Don Bullman, who was 
charged with membership in the IRA, an illegal organization. 
Bullman was arrested while passing cash hidden in a laundry 
detergent box to alleged IRA members on February 17, and, 
technically, his case could go to court independently of the 
wider money-laundering case.)  Once charges are brought, it 
would likely take a year to begin the court case.  O'Leary 
noted that Hamilton could possibly opt for a special non-jury 
criminal court consisting of three judges, an option that was 
sometimes used for cases involving unlawful organizations 
like the IRA.  When Emboff asked who would likely face 
charges, O'Leary replied that, of those brought in for Garda 
questioning, no one had been ruled out as beyond suspicion 
(including, by implication, Phil Flynn, a friend of Prime 
Minister (Taoiseach) Bertie Ahern and former chairman of the 
Bank of Scotland (Ireland)).  He added that the operative 
legislation in the case would likely be the Proceeds of Crime 
Act of 1997, rather than the Criminal Justice Act of 2005, 
since the latter focused primarily on terrorism. 
 
¶4.  (C) In separate discussions with the Ambassador, DCM, and 
Emboffs, Assistant Garda Commissioner Joe Egan said that 
investigations into the money-laundering case could still 
take several months, as police used DNA and other scientific 
techniques to pursue a connection to the Northern Bank raid. 
He commented that the money-laundering operation had been 
poorly conducted, due most likely to the unexpected size of 
the bank haul.  Investigators were focused primarily on Ted 
Cunningham and Tom Hanlon, a one-time Sinn Fein candidate for 
the Cork County Council, whom Garda believed may have held 
STG 1.5 million of the stolen bank notes.  Hanlon had in turn 
distributed part of this sum to several republican 
supporters, including one who was apprehended while burning 
the cash in his home. 
 
A Bulgarian Connection? 
----------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) A possible Bulgarian connection in the case remains a 
strong point of interest, according to O'Leary and Walsh of 
the Irish DOJ.  (As noted in Irish media reporting and ref C, 
Phil Flynn and Ted Cunningham, a Cork-based money lender in 
whose home Garda found STG 2.3 million, traveled to Sofia in 
late January to open bank accounts with the purported aim of 
registering three companies in Bulgaria.  The suspicion is 
that Flynn and Cunningham were creating money-laundering 
vehicles.)  Walsh confirmed that, in February, the Bulgarian 
Embassy in Dublin arranged for him to meet a visiting 
Bulgarian security agent, who offered to act as a point of 
contact for law enforcement exchanges on the case.  Walsh 
said that he was not "fully aware" of whether the Garda had 
subsequently sent investigators to Bulgaria.  (Comment: This 
claim is not credible, since Walsh would definitely have 
known of Garda visits documented in ref C.)  O'Leary remarked 
that while there might not yet be firm evidence of wrongdoing 
in Bulgaria, the line of inquiry into the possible 
involvement of corrupt Bulgarian individuals/enterprises 
remained open. 
 
¶6. (C) Assistant Garda Commissioner Egan said that the Garda 
continued to pursue a possible Bulgarian connection, based on 
pre-existing evidence of IRA/Sinn Fein-Bulgarian links.  For 
example, the Garda were aware that IRA members had previously 
invited Bulgarian investors to Ireland to consider purchasing 
land for a nursing home.  The Bulgarian Government had also 
kept GOI authorities informed of other Irish attempts to 
register questionable companies in Bulgaria even before the 
Flynn/Cunningham visit. 
 
The Bulgarian Ambassador: "No Link" 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) The Bulgarian Ambassador to Ireland, Bisserka 
Benisheva, told Emboff that that there was no evidence of 
criminal involvement by Bulgarians in the money-laundering 
case and that the trip taken by Phil Flynn and Ted Cunningham 
to Sofia in late January had been a coincidence.  Benisheva 
noted that she had arranged for Irish officials to meet with 
a Bulgarian security agent in February.  She stated, however, 
that the Irish had not made any formal requests for 
assistance since, and she denied knowledge of follow-up 
visits by Irish investigators to Bulgaria, or vice-versa. 
(Comment: Given ref C, we doubt her veracity on this point, 
but it is possible that, for deniability purposes, the 
Ambassador intentionally kept herself out of the loop.)  She 
confirmed that Bulgarian Deputy Finance Minister Ilia 
Lingorsky had received a courtesy call by Flynn and 
Cunningham, but only because of their stated interest in the 
Bulgarian mortgage market, a sector to which Lingorsky has 
worked to draw foreign investment.  She emphasized that the 
damage to Bulgaria's reputation had been unfair, and she 
expressed regret that Ireland had not joined Bulgarian 
Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov in publicly denying a 
Bulgarian link in the case. 
 
Mixing of IRA and Sinn Fein Funds 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) More generally, the DOJ and Garda continue to be 
concerned that money illegally acquired by the IRA was 
"seeping" into resources available for Sinn Finn's political 
activities in the Republic of Ireland, said the DOJ's 
O'Leary.  The difficulty lay in documenting the mixing of 
such funds.  O'Leary noted that the Standards in Public 
Office Commission (SIPO) was similarly concerned that 
political donations obtained by Sinn Fein in the United 
States and elsewhere overseas were being spent in the South. 
(Under a 2002 SIPO ruling, Sinn Fein can accept donations 
from non-Irish citizens in foreign countries, but only for 
activities outside the Republic of Ireland, i.e., in Northern 
Ireland.)  He noted that the DOJ would be interested to see 
whether and how the IRA might address criminality in its 
expected response to Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams' call 
for an end to republican paramilitarism.  O'Leary added that 
the awaited IRA statement would have no bearing on the 
money-laundering case or other investigations into possible 
IRA crimes committed since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. 
 
¶9.  (C) Assistant Garda Commissioner Egan commented that IRA 
money was constantly moving, flowing from diversified sources 
into wide-ranging investments.  While the IRA had been 
proficient in smuggling, robbery, and racketeering since the 
1970s, the Celtic Tiger economic boom of the 1990s had 
prompted the IRA to diversify into more sophisticated 
business enterprises.  IRA investments now included real 
estate ventures in Dublin, London, and Spanish resort areas, 
handled by apparently respectable businessmen.  Egan also 
expressed concern about the commingling of ill-gotten IRA 
funds with Sinn Fein's political coffers in the Republic of 
Ireland.  The irony, Egan explained, was that Sinn Fein was 
already raising substantial sums for its political activities 
in the South through legal avenues.  He pointed out, for 
example, that Sinn Fein conducted at least 60 fund-raisers in 
the South per week for its electoral war chest. 
 
Comment: GOI Reticence 
---------------------- 
 
¶10.  (C) O'Leary, Walsh, and Egan (who retires in August) 
made clear to Emboffs that the ongoing investigation into the 
money-laundering case constrained their ability to provide 
more information, as the lack of detail in their observations 
bears out.  We expect that GOI officials will remain reticent 
until charges are actually filed, a step that may also be 
delayed by continuing investigations into the Northern Bank 
robbery itself.  Garda and DOJ representatives are also 
likely to continue to be quiet in public and in discussions 
with us regarding funding of Sinn Fein,s activities in the 
Republic of Ireland.  As a political force in the South, Sinn 
Fein has limited reach, but is seen as the most 
well-organized and best-funded party.  Competing parties, 
including the governing Fianna Fail party, are anxious to 
ensure that Sinn Fein members/supporters abide by Irish law 
and are subject to public scrutiny when they do not.  Both 
the Garda (traditionally tough on the republican movement 
writ large, due to its terrorist connections) and political 
levels of the government will be careful to avoid the public 
perception that any legal pursuit of Sinn Fein/IRA-tied 
personalities in the South is politically connected. 
KENNY