Luxury goods used to bring the proceeds of crime across borders

Listen | 23:57
Cash seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB)
Cash seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB)

Dublin criminals used an “underground bank” run by Chinese gangs to launder their money and get it out of the country. It involved Chinese restaurants and considerable levels of trust between the criminals. In this bank, designer handbags were currency.

Meanwhile a new generation of Irish criminals splash the cash to make themselves Instagram friendly, spending on designer goods but also lip fillers and Turkey teeth. Irish Times crime editor Conor Lally tells In the News how the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is following the money.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon. This episode was originally published in November 2023.

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison

Bernice Harrison is an Irish Times journalist and cohost of In the News podcast