Gardaí Probe Money Laundering as Liberty Recycling Halts Operations

More than 100 staff at Liberty Recycling and two linked entities were temporarily laid off this week after Gardaí opened a criminal investigation into the charity's finances. The charity's activities have stopped, leaving tonnes of textiles stranded in its Bluebell depot in Dublin 12. Its network of more than 400 clothes banks across the State cannot be emptied, despite many being full.

Gardaí are examining the movement of large sums of money through the bank accounts of Liberty Recycling and related entities. They are also reviewing international transfers to determine if they were a legitimate part of the organisation's trading activities or unrelated to the charity's core work. The probe is being carried out by the money laundering unit within the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.

The Charities Regulator applied to the High Court this week for a provisional liquidator. The regulator said it appeared some conduct in the charity was unlawful and may have been carried out for the benefit of an organisation whose membership is unlawful. It flagged concern over substantial international transfers of funds it feared were not commensurate with the level of activity taking place in the charity.

Liberty Recycling's bank accounts have been frozen. Garda searches last week seized assets including two BMW X5s, designer bags and Rolex watches worth €40,000. Its revenues have reached more than €4 million in some years, and the Department of Social Protection has funded its community employment scheme by close to €500,000 in some years.

The charity was created in the 1990s as a community employment scheme for drug users who had used the services of the Merchants Quay project. The two organisations are no longer linked and have not been for years. Those laid off include many trying to recover from drug abuse who had places on the charity's community employment scheme, sorting donated textiles in Bluebell.

Liberty uses its clothing banks to collect unwanted clothes, sheets, curtains, handbags and shoes, and sells most of it to traders in Africa and Asia to raise funds for its core activities. Gardaí are closely reviewing contacts with, as yet unidentified, parties in Africa. Concerns exist that a criminal element has infiltrated the charity.