A senior associate of the Kinahan cartel has been charged with 30 money laundering offences relating to bank accounts he held in his own name over a five-year period.

Jonathan Harding (48), who is currently serving a lengthy jail term over a major weapons seizure linked to the crime gang, appeared before the Special Criminal Court yesterday to face the new charges.

The senior mob associate and his partner Carol Davis (45) were charged at the non-jury court with a total of 50 money laundering offences following an investigation by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB).

Detective Garda Conor O’Sullivan gave evidence of charging the accused.

Converting

Harding, with an address at Kerdiff Avenue in Naas, Co Kildare, faces 30 counts of converting, transferring or handling the money between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016, at EBS, Bank of Ireland and AIB accounts, the proceeds of criminal conduct.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens, presiding at the non-jury court, heard from prosecuting solicitor Michael O’Donovan that the charges come under the Criminal Justice Act 2010 and related to money laundering and terrorist financing within the State.

All 30 charges were read out to Harding by the registrar, which took 10 minutes.

They relate to accounts allegedly held in his own name and the name of his co-accused, Carol Davis, at EBS, AIB and Bank of Ireland.

Detective Garda Paul Kane gave evidence of arresting and charging and caution of Ms Davis (45), with an address at Clonmacnoise Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12.

She is accused of 20 offences also under Section 7 of the Act between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016, relating to accounts held in her own name also at EBS, AIB and Bank of Ireland.

In 2018, Harding was jailed for nine years in relation to the seizure of a weapons cache from a west Dublin business park.

At his sentencing hearing the court heard Harding was “not a prime mover” in terms of the overall operation, and that he was “a willing participant, but would not have had the acumen to design such an operation”.

He previously escaped charges after he was arrested when officers seized two loaded rocket launchers in one of their first operations against the cartel in May 2010.