Man (40s) arrested in Dublin as part of €660k 'romance fraud' investigation by Gardaí

The man, aged in his 40s, was arrested in Finglas for gangland offences, contrary to the Criminal Justice Act. Two searches took place in the Citywest and Finglas areas.

He is currently detained at Terenure Garda Station, and he can be held for up to seven days.

Banking documents, a laptop and a phone were also seized during the operation.

As part of an ongoing investigation into laundering the proceeds of romance and phishing frauds, a search operation was carried out by Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) personnel in Dublin this morning.

This investigation has established a number of bank accounts were created under false names. It is believed approximately €660,000 has been laundered through these accounts.

The money is understood to have emanated from a romance fraud operating in Germany between October 2020 and February 2021.

In one particular case, an elderly woman was allegedly defrauded out of €230,000.

Investigations are ongoing.