Central Bank of Ireland fines Swilly Mulroy Credit Union EUR 36,273 for anti-money laundering breaches

The Central Bank of Ireland has imposed a reprimand and a monetary penalty of EUR 36,273 on Swilly Mulroy Credit Union for breaches of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 and the Credit Union Act 1997. The enforcement action relates to a cash-intensive practice that bypassed required anti-money laundering (AML) checks for depositors who did not hold accounts with the credit union. Between 2 January 2014 and 30 June 2021, Swilly Mulroy solicited and accepted cash from non-account holders and electronically transferred the funds to a local bank branch without first lodging the money to an account in the customer’s name, processing EUR 8,751,694 across 2,329 cash lodgements. The investigation identified multiple examples of cash lodgements that should have triggered additional scrutiny but were processed without AML checks, and found the board was aware of the risks from 2015 but did not act on its risk management obligations; a new management team ceased the practice in 2021. The issue was detected during a 2022 inspection, followed by an enforcement investigation opened in 2023; Swilly Mulroy admitted the prescribed contraventions and agreed the undisputed facts. As part of a settlement under the Administrative Sanctions Procedure’s undisputed facts process, the Central Bank set a EUR 51,819 penalty and applied a 30% settlement discount to reach EUR 36,273. The sanctions are subject to confirmation by the High Court and will not take effect unless confirmed.