money mule | 

Pharma worker let pension hacker use Revolut account to launder money

Adjourning the case, Judge Máire Conneely said she would strike it out, leaving him without a criminal record if he paid the same amount in compensation to the victim.

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A pharmaceuticals worker let a fraudster use his Revolut account to transfer money that was stolen from a public servant’s pension fund, a court has heard.

Merveil Mavungu (30) was “fully aware” of the more than €1,700 that was laundered through his account after the victim’s pension was “hacked”, a court heard.

Adjourning the case, Judge Máire Conneely said she would strike it out, leaving him without a criminal record if he paid the same amount in compensation to the victim.

Mavungu, of Esker Park, Lucan, pleaded guilty to possession of crime proceeds on April 7, 2021.

Garda Sergeant Maria Callaghan said €1,723 was received into the accused’s account after the funds were transferred from the victim’s semi-state pension account held in Scotland, which had been hacked by an unknown person.

It appeared from phone analysis that Mavungu was “fully aware” of the money and gardaí believed it came from a family member living in England.

It was transferred from the Revolut account to another person with a similar name, also believed to be a family member, Sgt Callaghan said.

The accused had no previous convictions.

Mavungu came to Ireland from Congo as a child and got a degree in pharmaceuticals, his solicitor Aoife McNicholl said. At the time of the offence, he was working in retail while studying and was under financial pressure.

He was supporting other family members and had paid for his grandparents’ funerals.

A letter submitted to court set out his “deep remorse” for the offence.

Mavungu had a “very bright future” and a conviction could impact on his career.

It was the pension fund rather than the victim that was at a loss, but she said in an impact statement it was a worrying and “horrible time” for her as it “caused so much hassle” and took her a year to get her “identity sorted out” after the fraud.