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Alleged burglary gang driver loses appeal to hold onto house targeted by CAB

Mary Cash had been targeted by CAB but claimed she had earned her money working as an escort in Australia

Today at 11:50

A WOMAN alleged to be the driver for a notorious burglary gang has lost her appeal against a High Court ruling to allow the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to sell her house.

Mary Cash had been targeted by CAB but claimed she had earned her money working as an escort in Australia as well as doing child minding and as a cleaner

The three-judge Court of Appeal have upheld the view she offered “no convincing explanation” for the source of the money used to buy her home in Portlaoise.

In its ruling the three-judge panel said she had not engaged with CAB and agreed with the original judge that her explanations were “totally unpersuasive”.

However, it was heard that she will fight any move by CAB to get a court order to allow it to sell off the property which has been declared to be the proceeds of crime.

In last week’s appeal decision it was stated that “Ms Cash has fallen far short of demonstrating any error in the approach of the trial judge to the evidence in this case, less still that his conclusions were untenable”.

At the original CAB hearing last July it was heard her husband Andrew Cash and brother Henry Kiely are members of an organised crime gang which are “heavily involved in criminal behaviour throughout the island of Ireland”.

In his affidavit to the High Court, the CAB chief officer, Michael Gubbins, said Mary Cash is believed to be the driver or to provide cars for members of the gang related to her.

Her bank account saw €429,000 pass through over 10 years “a sum not possibly derived” from her income and which she did not explain the source of the cash when interviewed by officers.

Following her arrest in Kilkenny in July 2019, CAB searched her Portlaoise home where they found €700 and £900 in a handbag in the front bedroom.

Gardaí also found a secret compartment over the fireplace in the bedroom in which £6,000 was found inside two socks.

During the same search a gold Cartier Santos Galbee watch worth €2,000 and a Chanel N’Quartz watch worth €900 were also found, along with two diamond bracelets worth €4,200.

Also included in the list of items that the CAB wanted declared the proceeds of crime were five designer handbags worth between €900 and €4,000 each, along with a 171-reg VW Golf.

In a second search in March 2020 images of Mary Cash leading “a lavish lifestyle” were found on her mobile phone, including one taken while shopping in Harrods.

CAB also said renovations were carried out to her Portlaoise home even after her bank account had been frozen – including a new front door, wood-flooring and bathroom for which a builder was paid in cash to install.

Her recent appeal against the decision to declare the assets as being the proceeds of crime, Mary Cash only focused on the decision to allow a receiver to be appointed to the house.

Last July Cash also got a two-and-a-half year suspended sentence at Kilkenny Circuit Court over money-laundering charges.

Cash that was seized from her by gardaí in the city was forfeited to the State including €1,000 worth of Qatari Riyals found in her car and a further €9,000 concealed in the bottom of a make-up bag and st£14,500 in a nappy stashed in storage locker.

The CAB case began as a result of being stopped by gardaí in July 2019 when an officer on patrol saw a child running from a shop with toys, arousing his suspicions.

The youngster got into a Northern Ireland reg silver Hyundai jeep being driven by Ms Cash which was then stopped by gardaí.

This led to the search of the storage locker and existence of a bank account in her name which she admitted was used to launder €74,000.