US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN210

UNCLAS DUBLIN 000210 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O.  12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PINR, PGOV, PINS, PREL, EI, NIPP 
SUBJECT:  POLICE ARREST SINN FEIN MEMBERS IN MONEY 
LAUNDERING SWOOP 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Sinn Fein is facing its biggest 
political crisis since the beginning of the peace process 
after two party activists, including a former elected 
representative, were arrested in a swoop by Irish police 
on suspects in an apparent money laundering scheme. 
Seven people were arrested and over 2.3m pounds sterling 
and euro 94,000 was seized in Cork and Dublin.  Police 
are pursuing the possibility of a link to the December 
Belfast bank robbery that netted 26.5 million pounds 
sterling.  Up to 100 officers from the Criminal Assets 
Bureau, Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, Special 
Detective Unit and Crime and Security Section were 
involved in the arrests.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) The first of the arrests were made shortly after 
4.30pm on February 16.  Three men - two from Derry and 
one from Cork - were detained at Heuston railway station 
in Dublin after police discovered that the Cork man was 
carrying euro 94,000 in cash.  The two men from Derry are 
believed to have strong republican links.  On the evening 
of February 16, two more men were arrested in Cork. 
George Hegarty, who reportedly has links with Sinn Fein, 
was arrested at his home at Douglas (near the city of 
Cork) where 60,000 pounds sterling in Northern Bank notes 
was discovered.  The second man, arrested in Passage West 
(also on the outskirts of Cork), is Tom Hanlon, a former 
Sinn Fein councillor who was a Parliamentary candidate in 
the 2002 General Election and an election agent for the 
party during the 2004 European Parliament elections. 
 
3. (U) On February 17, a registered money lender, Ted 
Cunningham, 57, from Farran, Cork, and his partner, Cathy 
Armstrong, were also arrested and detained after 2.3 
million pounds sterling were recovered from a bin at the 
rear of their house.  The arrests took place following a 
raid on Mr. Cunningham's business premises in 
Ballincollig. 
 
4.  (U) The seven arrested are being held under Section 
30 of the Offences Against the State Act, and can be 
detained for up to 72 hours without charge.  Further 
searches were carried out on business premises and houses 
in Dublin and Cork, and also in Dundalk, Co. Louth; 
Killucan, Co. Westmeath; and Swords, Co. Dublin. 
 
5. (U) No substantive link has yet been established 
between the confiscated money and last December's Belfast 
robbery, although Irish Police sources suspect that some 
or all of the cash seized was part of the haul from the 
Northern Bank raid.  Irish Police confirmed that they had 
been in constant contact with the Police Service of 
Northern Ireland (PSNI) in the lead up to the raids and 
arrests. 
 
6. (U) The Government of Ireland has declined to make any 
public comment in advance of possible criminal charges 
that are likely to be brought against some or all of 
those detained.  Willie O'Dea, Minister for Defense, said 
the scale of the operation had been "quite staggering" 
but did not comment on the political implications. 
Opposition parties demanded an explanation from Sinn 
Fein.  Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, said "Sinn Fein 
must make an immediate statement on this development and 
on its relationship with those involved."  Pat Rabbitte, 
Labour Party leader, said the seizures and arrests were 
"an astonishing development" while Trevor Sargent, leader 
of the Green Party, said Sinn Fein should "come clean on 
their involvement with criminal activity." 
 
7. (U) Sinn Fein issued a brief statement in which they 
said they were aware of the speculation linking the 
arrests and the Northern Bank raid.  The statement noted: 
"Sinn Fein's position on this robbery is clear.  Over the 
past four weeks we have seen people rush to judgment time 
and time again.  We would urge people to exercise caution 
on this occasion and allow the truth to come out." 
 
8. (SBU) Comment:   While there is not yet a 
substantiated link between the money seized in this 
police operation and the Belfast bank robbery, the 
political implications for Sinn Fein are serious.  Recent 
weeks have seen unprecedented public attention to IRA 
involvement in criminality, and yesterday's arrests will 
only reinforce in the public mind that Sinn Fein is 
fronting for a criminal outfit.  The arrests can only 
further damage Sinn Fein's image in Irish domestic 
politics as well as its ability to pursue peace in the 
north. 
 
BENTON