High Court of Ireland Decisions

[2025] IEHC 215

PROCEEDS OF CRIME

IN THE MATTER OF S.3(1) OF THE PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT 1996

 

[2021 No. 20 CAB]

 

BETWEEN:

CRIMINAL ASSETS BUREAU

Applicant

-and-

 

JAMES GATELY AND CHARLENE LAM

Respondents

 

JUDGMENT of The Hon. Mr. Justice Alexander Owens delivered on the 7th day of April

2025

1.            This judgment is supplemental to my judgment delivered on 19 June 2024.

2.            An issue arose as to whether payments by James Gately to Ulster Bank of monthly mortgage instalments relating to the home of James Gately and Charlene Lam at Glin Drive, Coolock in Dublin (Glin Drive) in the period between 9 April 2019 and 19 June 2024 were funded from proceeds of crime. I indicated that I would be prepared to make an allowance to Charlene Lam out of the proceeds of sale of this house to reflect any contributions by her to these payments which were not derived from proceeds of crime.

3.            Ulster Bank collected mortgage instalments relating to Glin Drive by monthly direct debits presented to James Gately's AIB Bank current account. These direct debits were presented for payment around the eighteenth day of each calendar month. Neither party to these proceedings exhibited statements which show transactions on James Gately's bank account for the relevant period. Ulster Bank mortgage statements show mortgage payments of €16,990 in the period between 9 April 2019 and 19 September 2022. This was made up of thirty monthly payments of €566 odd.

4.            James Gately missed a number of payments during this period. Direct debits for monthly instalments which fell due in April, May and December 2019 were bounced. Direct debits for instalments which fell due in February, March, April, June, August and October of 2020 were bounced. Direct debits for instalments which fell due in May 2021, May 2022 and July 2022 were bounced. Charlene Lam's averment of belief that she may have made mortgage payments after that time is not supported by evidence.

5.            All monthly direct debits for mortgage instalments which fell due after 19 September 2022 up until November of 2023 were bounced. As a result of this, James Gately and Charlene Lam got the benefit of free occupation of Glin Drive from October 2022 at expense to the State. This is because additional interest has accumulated on their mortgage balance as a result of their default. This extra interest must be discharged from the proceeds of sale of Glin Drive.

6.            Charlene Lam submitted an affidavit sworn on 16 July 2024 in which she claimed that she contributed €10,411 to mortgage payments on Glin Drive between 8 April 2019 and 19 October 2022. She claimed that these payments were funded by proceeds of a personal injuries claim, a lottery win and earnings from her beauty salon. She provided a list of these payments. This list provided the date and amount of each withdrawal which was accompanied by the narrative "mortgage" in her bank statements. It also identified her AIB Bank current account from which each of these withdrawals was made. She stated that she believed that she made other mortgage payments, but she did not then have documents to vouch these.

7.            Charlene Lam left it to the reader of her exhibit to ascertain that pages were missing from her AIB Bank current account statements. She exhibited the remaining pages in a haphazard fashion. She inaccurately stated that €12,344 which her sister got as compensation for personal injuries was lodged to her bank account on 11 March 2019.

8.            Charlene Lam exhibited copies of pages 8 to 68 of her bank statements relating to her business current account at AIB Bank Artane. These cover transactions on that account between 4 October 2021 and 6 January 2023. She also exhibited pages 183 to 221 and 245 to 260 of her bank statements relating to her current account at AIB Bank Drumcondra Road. These cover transactions on that account between 18 November 2018 and 31 July 2020, and between 10 August 2021 and 28 July 2022. She also exhibited her Revolut account statements for the period between 10 September 2019 and 29 February 2024. She also exhibited "a copy of my income tax returns for the years 2019 to 2022."

9.            Charlene Lam exhibited details of her sales, described as "banked," and as recorded in her cashbook for the years 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. These showed her "sales" and "VAT on sales" for those years. Her sales net, of VAT, for 2021 and 2022 were €44,145 and €69,574. She did not exhibit cashbooks, balance sheets or profit and loss accounts for 2019, 2020, 2021 or 2022. Her tax returns showed taxable income of €22,877, €19,303, €34,492 and €36,041 in the years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. Her income tax, PRSI and USC liability, after credits and reliefs, for each of those years was €2,825, €1,061, €5,181 and €5,902.

10.          I note that Charlene Lam has not been served with any estimated assessments in relation to alleged under-declaration of income for 2019 and later years.

11.          The Bureau's deponent exhibited copies of the missing statements on Charlene Lam's AIB Bank current accounts. These disclose that Charlene Lam's business current account at AIB Bank Artane was opened on 9 July 2021 with a transfer of €600 from her Revolut account.

12.          Charlene Lam submitted a supplemental affidavit sworn on 26 November 2024 in which she claimed that she provided €16,990 towards mortgage instalments during the period between 17 June 2019 and 19 September 2022. I agree with her general contention that the Bureau's deponent jumped to some conclusions which the materials which he worked off do not support.

13.          I started by examining transactions recorded on Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account in the period between 9 April 2019 and 31 July 2020 and on her Revolut account for the period between 10 September 2019 and 31 July 2020.

14.          I then looked at transactions recorded in the extra material which covered transactions on Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account in the period between 1 August 2020 and 9 August 2021. This was the period for which she did not retain copies of her bank statements relating to that current account. I also looked at transactions on her Revolut account during the same period.

15.          I looked at transactions recorded on Charlene Lam's business current account at AIB Bank Artane for the period between 9 July 2021 to 3 October 2021. The statements detailing these transactions were omitted from her exhibit to her affidavit sworn on 16 July 2024. I also looked at transactions on her Revolut account and on her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account during the same period.

16.          Finally, I looked at transactions on Charlene Lam's two AIB Bank current accounts and her Revolut account for the period between 4 October 2021 and 19 September 2022.

17.          I examined the Bureau's exhibit, which also includes Charlene Lam's AIB savings account statement covering the period up to 27 May 2024. My purpose was to see if I could find evidence of other withdrawals with the narrative "mortgage" or the narrative "James Gately" around the time when monthly mortgage instalments fell due for payment in the periods covered by the pages which were missing from Charlene Lam's copy of her bank statements. I also looked at credits and debits to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank current accounts and Revolut account for the periods covered by the missing statements to see if transactions on these accounts during these periods were consistent with ultimate use of legitimate business receipts to discharge mortgage instalments.

18.          I looked at credits and debits to these accounts for the periods covered by the AIB Bank statements exhibited by Charlene Lam on 16 July 2024 to see if these transactions were consistent with use of legitimate receipts to discharge mortgage instalments.

19.          I considered whether there are indications that money was introduced from undisclosed sources to fund these payments directly or was used to subsidise the lifestyle of Charlene Lam and James Gately, and thus facilitate money laundering by enabling them to elect to use legitimate income to discharge these payments during the relevant period.

20.          Charlene Lam did not have a merchant terminal to take card payments until she opened a Stripe account in early May 2021. Her other method of accepting card payments was direct transfer of money into her Revolut account from Revolut card-holder customers or from other beauticians operating from her salon.

21.          Cash payment is becoming less usual in modern retail trade. Cash can be used to launder money from undisclosed sources into a business. Use of cash can also facilitate drawings from unrecorded receipts.

22.          The total amount of cash credited to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account for the months of January, February, March and April of 2019 was €7,380. The total amount of cash credited to that account for the months of May, June, July and August 2019 was €4,175.

23.          A €12,344 compensation payment to Charlene Lam's sister was lodged to Charlene Lam's current account at AIB Drumcondra on 14 May 2019. This was spent by 1 September 2019. During that period the card associated with her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was used to buy Stena UK tickets, and airline tickets. It was also used to make payments in London and to Euro Disney, and on expenditure associated with two trips to Croatia.

24.          The card relating to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was also used in Northern Ireland during the period between May and September 2019. This included use in WH Smith and the Lagan Bar at Belfast Airport on 14 August 2019. This was associated with an EasyJet flight, the cost of which was charged to her account in sterling. James Gately was living on-and-off in Northern Ireland because of death threats and attempts on his life following the Regency Hotel murder in 2016.

25.          Charlene Lam's Revolut account records very few payments by her to her sister. Her bank accounts do not show any pattern of payment consistent with repayment to her sister of the €12,344. The manner in which Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account operated during the period when this money was spent was inconsistent with any arrangement to hold the compensation money for her sister and disburse it on her behalf.

26.          Charlene Lam's AIB Drumcondra current account continued to show evidence of discretionary expenditure on trips funded by money from unknown sources after 1 September 2019. The card relating to this bank account was used to pay STG£100 to Eurotunnel on 2 September 2019. It was also used to make a cash withdrawal at C/Cuenca in Benidorm, debited to her account on 16 September 2019. It was used to buy Eurotunnel tickets for €136 on 23 September 2019. It was used to pay €176 to Stena Line Europe on 24 September 2019. This pattern is consistent with a round-trip by sea, land and Eurotunnel from Belfast to Benidorm, and then back to Dublin.

27.          Records of transactions on Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account for the period between 1 September 2019 and 1 April 2020 show total cash lodgements of €6,070. Charlene Lam received €3,636 in Revolut credits during that period. Some of these receipts were in excess of what might be usual charges for beauty treatments. For example, "L.O." paid Charlene Lam €720 and €34 on 27 November 2019 and further sums of €350 and €28 on 5 December 2019.

28.          These receipts were more consistent with payments from other beauticians to Charlene Lam in return for being allowed to operate out of her facility. Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account records show no evidence of any increase of cash from trading in the run-up to Christmas of 2019. This would be a busy period for the beauty business.

29.          Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was used to defray some expenditure on domestic shopping, utility bills, car finance from Close Brothers, direct debits to Revenue (most of which were bounced due to lack of funds) and for transfers of money to James Gately to pay some of the monthly mortgage instalments. However, much of the normal expenditure one would expect to see on living did not feature in the bank statements until April 2020. With the exception of €26.25 to Specsavers, nothing was spent on the bank card relating to this current account between 12 November 2019 and Christmas of 2019.

30.          Charlene Lam's total expenditure on her Revolut account during the 2019 Christmas period was very small. Expenditures on small amounts in Marshes Shopping Centre in Dundalk, Canal Court Hotel in Newry and at an Opticians in Newry in January, February and May 2020 were consistent with trips to Northern Ireland to visit James Gately.

31.          The December 2019 mortgage instalment was missed. The November 2019 and January 2020 mortgage instalments were paid using money from an unknown source. This money cannot be matched with any withdrawals from Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account.

32.          I have little doubt that Charlene Lam and James Gately were in receipt of substantial funds from undisclosed sources which subsidised their lifestyle in the period between 9 April 2019 and 1 April 2020.

33.          Regulations under s.31A of the Health Act 1947 as a result of Covid-19 resulted in closure of hairdressers and beauty salons between 27 March 2020 and 29 June 2020; between 21 October 2020 and 1 December 2020, and between Christmas 2020 and 10 May 2021. Those restrictions resulted in fall-off in Revolut money transfers to Charlene Lam during those periods. They also resulted in fall-off in cash lodged to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account.

34.          Charlene Lam received weekly payments of €350 from the State from 7 April 2020 to 30 June 2020. She received weekly payments of €300 from the State between 3 November 2020 and 15 December 2020. She received weekly payments of €300 from the State between 5 January 2021 and 15 June 2021. Charlene Lam received child benefit during this period. She also received a payment of €2,500 from a third party in early March 2021.

35.          Cash lodgements to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account in the period between 2 April 2020 and 31 July 2020 totalled €3,465. Three of these lodgements were used to fund three withdrawals in May, June and July 2020 which bore the notation "mortgage." The total value of these withdrawals was €1,538. However, the June 2020 mortgage payment instalment was missed.

36.          Covid-19 had an effect on the lifestyle of James Gately and Charlene Lam. They were no longer able to engage in unrestricted foreign travel. Travel restrictions were reimposed at the end of August 2020. These prohibited unnecessary travel from the State.

37.          James Gately and one other person went on Ryanair Flights from Dublin to Amsterdam and back to Dublin on 21 and 24 July 2020 and on 17 September 2020 and 19 September 2020. These trips were funded from undisclosed sources. Charlene Lam's Revolut Card recorded a purchase of "Under Armour Amsterdam" which was debited on 17 September 2020. A Revolut payment of €40 which she attempted to make in favour of "Hotel Manofa" in Amsterdam was reverted on 16 September 2020.

38.          On 18 October 2020 Charlene Lam made a Revolut payment of €420 to the Martello Hotel in Bray. I was not inclined to consider that as indicating use of other funds from undisclosed sources in an activity in Bray, as this payment is consistent with legitimate activity such as a booking for a Christmas party. She has explained this payment as being for a night away with three friends who reimbursed her for their share of the cost. I accept this explanation.

39.          The total of withdrawals from Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account with a narrative "mortgage" in the period between 1 August 2020 and 9 August 2021 was €4,038. These withdrawals were usually made on, or shortly before, the dates when direct debits for mortgage instalments were presented to James Gately's current account for payment. These withdrawals by Charlene Lam can be matched with mortgage instalment payments recorded by Ulster Bank. Many of these payments were wholly funded or part-funded by a same-day cash lodgement. The total of mortgage payments credited as paid during that period was €3,694.

40.          Cash lodgements to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account during that period totalled €8,850. Most of these lodgements were made during periods when beauty salons were permitted to trade. The last of these lodgements was on 20 May 2021. A number of payment transactions recorded around May of 2021 were consistent with preparations by Charlene Lam to re-open her salon after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

41.          The information presented does not allow me to draw a conclusion that cash which might have been earned during periods when beauty salons were not permitted to trade was used to make any mortgage payments. However, Charlene Lam had access to cash from undisclosed sources during this period. This can be seen from the manner in which her Revolut account and her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account operated in the run-up to Christmas of 2020. This trend of sparse use of Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account on day-to-day expenditure on the necessities of family living is evident from examination of transactions recorded on that account from June 2020 to the end of December 2020.

42.          Charlene Lam's cash lodgements to this current account after salons re-opened for December 2020 totalled €1,050. Revolut receipts which I have associated with her business activity during that month totalled €1,505.

43.          Charlene Lam's Revolut account received winnings of €1,200, €600 and €550 from Paddy Power bookmakers on 18 December 2020, 5 January 2021 and 16 February 2021. This account shows a series of debits for small payments to Paddy Power in the period between November 2020 and the end of May 2021. These totalled €475. It is difficult to credit that these three big payouts over a short period of time related to wins funded by the debits for small stakes which preceded them.

44.          I inferred that Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane business current account was set up to regularise her business record-keeping. This was confirmed in her affidavit. After this bank account was opened she stopped lodging cash to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account until 26 November 2021, when she made a lodgement of €550, using the An Post cash lodgement facility. In August 2021 she began recording transfers from this bank account to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account as drawings for "wages."

45.          A total of €9,082 cash was lodged to this bank account in the period between 9 July 2021 and 3 October 2021. Her Revolut receipts during that period totalled €6,466.82.

46.          This total of €9,082 can be compared with cash of €750 lodged by Charlene Lam to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account for the period between 10 May 2021 and 9 July 2021 and her Revolut receipts of €5,651 during that period. It would be expected that her business would be brisk in the period following relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions on 10 May 2021.

47.          Based on this trading history, it is likely that Charlene Lam had the benefit of substantial cash receipts during the period between 10 May 2021 and 9 July 2021 which were not lodged to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account. This cash was not accounted for.

48.          Stripe credits to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account in the period between 12 May 2021 and 9 August 2021 totalled €486. Most of these credits were for very small amounts. These amounts were consistent with receipts from sales of beauty products.

49.          Bank statements relating to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account show a withdrawal of €200 in favour of "James Gately" and a further withdrawal of €300 with an accompanying notation "mortgage" on 19 July 2021. They also show a withdrawal of €460 with an accompanying notation "mortgage" on 19 September 2021. I infer that these withdrawals were used to fund payment of the monthly mortgage payments for July and September 2021. Bank statements relating to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account show two transfers of €300 each to "mobimortgage" on 16 and 17 August 2021.

50.          Ryanair and other airlines stopped accepting cash for food and other items bought on flights as a result of Covid-19. On 5 September 2021 Charlene Lam's Revolut account was debited with a payment of €30 to Ryanair, consistent with a card on this account being used to make a payment during a Ryanair flight.

51.          A bank statement relating to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account shows that a card issued on that account was used to make two purchases in Spain debited on 7 September 2021. One of these purchases was in Barcelona. The other was at what looks to be a Natura outlet at Barcelona Airport. A card relating to this bank account was also used to make a payment on a Ryanair flight which was debited on 7 September 2021. This is consistent with Charlene Lam taking a Ryanair flight to Ireland from Barcelona. Ryanair Flight information shows that James Gately and Charlene Lam flew from Dublin to Barcelona on 3 September 2021 and flew back to Dublin from Barcelona on 6 September 2021.

52.          The other money which James Gately and Charlene Lam used in connection with this trip came from undisclosed sources.

53.          Cash lodgements to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account in the period between 4 October 2021 and 31 December 2021 totalled €7,865. Transfers to her Revolut account attributable to her business during that period totalled €6,426.21. Stripe credits to her AIB Bank Artane current account during that period totalled €1,163.

54.          On 26 May 2021 a card on Charlene Lam's Revolut account was used to make a payment of €175 to an entity in Tallinn in Estonia. On 27 October 2021 a card on Charlene Lam's Revolut account was used to make payment of €261 to this entity in Tallinn in Estonia. On 2 February 2022 her Revolut account was used to make a further payment of €193 to this entity. On 5 May 2022 her Revolut account was debited with €193 in favour of this entity.

55.          Information from Charlene Lam's Revolut account and AIB Bank current accounts was insufficient to enable me to infer that either Charlene Lam or James Gately were in Estonia when these payments were made. My view on these transactions has been confirmed by Charlene Lam's averments in her affidavit of 26 November 2024 and the exhibited receipts.

56.          I have not considered transactions disclosed in Charlene Lam's bank statements or Revolut statements after 19 September 2022 because there is no evidence that James Gately made mortgage payments after that date, though I note that Charlene Lam has explained the transaction in favour of the Osprey Hotel in Naas.

57.          Cash lodgements to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account during that period totalled €550. She received €23,369 in lottery winnings which she lodged to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account on 7 December 2021. On 13 December 2021 she lodged a further €5,000 with a notation "GO'B." These lodgements were used to buy a 2018 Audi A6 car. The designation of "GO'B" as the source of this €5,000 is inconsistent with Charlene Lam's claim that she saved it.

58.          Part of the money for this car came from a trade-in of a Seat car which James Gately brought in from the Northern Ireland. The funds which enabled him to buy this car came from unknown sources. At that stage ownership of the Seat was transferred to Charlene Lam's sister. The import documents represented that it had been bought from James Gately for €6,000.

59.          Charlene Lam's sister lacked means to buy this car from James Gately or to pay the duty on its import for use in the State. In early 2020 her bank current account was credited with €3,100 to pay this duty. This money was provided in the form of two round-sum cash lodgements from unknown sources. Charlene Lam had the use of this car until she bought her Audi A6.

60.          Charlene Lam has averred on affidavit that this car was gifted to her by her sister because her VW Golf had been seized by the Bureau. That seizure was made in April 2019. This explanation by Charlene Lam that the Seat car was a gift from her sister seems somewhat unlikely to be true. Charlene Lam did not go into detail or provide a convincing explanation which engaged with how her sister came to "buy" the car from James Gately.

61.          While the evidence relating to the import of this car shows that James Gately had access to money from unknown sources which he used to acquire it in Northern Ireland and to pay import duty in early 2020, this does have bearing on sources of the money which Charlene Lam used to make mortgage payments during late 2021 and 2022.

62.          A debit of €27,953 to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account on 7 December 2021 went towards the cost of her Audi A6. Her bank accounts do not show that she had any personal savings which could have contributed to the cost of this car.

63.          The total of withdrawals from Charlene Lam's AIB Bank current accounts designated "mobimortgage" during this period was €1,540. The monthly mortgage instalment for December 2021 was met from money transferred from her AIB Bank Artane current account to James Gately's current account. It was funded by a cash lodgement consistent with salon takings.

64.          On 31 March 2022 Charlene Lam's two AIB Bank current accounts were credited with two sums of €5,000. Both of these transfers were designated with a notation "bombshell." The sum credited to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was withdrawn immediately. On the same day a corresponding sum of €5,000 was credited to her AIB Bank Artane current account from "INET-185." It is not clear that these two transactions related to the same amount because the last three digits in the number of Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account are "-052"; not "-185." The net effect of these transactions was that Charlene Lam had an extra €10,000 in her AIB Bank Artane current account.

65.          On 4 April 2022 Charlene Lam transferred €5,000 from her AIB Bank Artane current account with the notation "inetreturn loan." I infer that this related to repayment of money borrowed by Charlene Lam from "G'OB" to help her to buy her Audi A6. The remaining €5,000, supplemented by some Stripe receipts, was largely spent by 12 May 2022. €700 of this money was transferred to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account on 12 April 2022. €400 of this money was transferred on 19 April 2022 to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account. These two transfers funded a transfer of €600 from that account on 19 April 2022 to meet a mortgage payment for April 2022.

66.          The source of the money which funded the €10,000 in transfers designated "bombshell" and the €5,000 from "INET-185" has not been explained.

67.          Withdrawals from Charlene Lam's two AIB Bank current accounts in respect of mortgage payments during 2022 totalled €3,510. A withdrawal of €600 on 21 March 2022 corresponded with a late receipt by Ulster Bank of the payment for March 2022 on that day. The June 2022 monthly mortgage payment was funded from a transfer of €485 from Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account to James Gately's AIB Bank current account on 17 June 2022. The monthly payments for May and July 2022 were missed.

68.          The January 2022 mortgage payment was met by a cash lodgement of €600 to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account designated "wages"; not from a transfer from her AIB Bank Artane current account. The February 2022 mortgage payment was made from her AIB Bank Artane current account and was funded by a Revolut lodgement of €300 and Stripe receipts. The March 2022 payment was made from her AIB Bank Artane current account and was funded by Stripe receipts. The April 2022 mortgage payment came from her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account, which was funded by two transfers from her AIB Bank Artane current account, which were in turn funded by a transfer from her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account. This was funded by the large lodgements of €10,000 from unknown sources on 31 March 2022.

69.          The June 2022 mortgage payment was funded by a lodgement of €500 to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account which came from her Revolut account. The August 2022 mortgage payment was funded by a cash lodgement of €750 to that current account. The September 2022 mortgage payment was funded by cash of €880 designated as salon takings lodged to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account in early September 2022, €450 of which was transferred by her to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account and by a cash lodgement of €350 direct to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account on 15 September 2022. A transfer from her AIB Bank Artane current account for €600 on 19 October 2022 which was designated "mobimortgage" was used make any mortgage payment.

70.          Cash Lodgements to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account in the period between 1 January 2022 and 19 September 2022 totalled €15,415. She made twenty-one cash lodgements at ATMs or using the An Post facility during this period. These lodgements were intermittent; with nothing recorded in the period between 24 February 2022 and 4 April 2022 and €750 recorded in the period between 24 May 2022 and 8 July 2022.

71.          It follows that it is possible that some of the money which made up €10,000 recorded as lodged to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank current accounts on 31 March 2022 related to cash receipts from her business. However, the pattern and amounts of receipts in the periods up to and after 31 March 2022 were not consistent with her business having capacity to generate an additional €10,000 in cash receipts.

72.          Charlene Lam's Stripe receipts into her AIB Bank Artane current account during the period between 1 January 2022 and 19 September 2022 totalled €8,927. Transfers to her Revolut account during that period which could be associated with her business totalled €17,144. These Revolut receipts were consistent with fees paid by beauticians to Charlene Lam in return for being allowed to trade on their own account in her salon, rather than with receipts for treatments. Many of her Revolut payments during this period were consistent with fees paid by her to beauticians to work in her salon.

73.          Charlene Lam's two AIB Bank current accounts and her Revolut account were used during the period between 1 January 2022 and 19 September 2022 to discharge tax liabilities and to pay for gas, refuse charges, clothes, new phones and phone bills, phone credit, Close Brothers and other recurring monthly payments, car tax and insurance, small bets placed with Paddy Power bookmakers, phone credit, NCT tests, passport fees, road tax, petrol, hair-dos, parking fees, clothes, groceries, butcher's bills, phones and phone credit and for occasional cash withdrawals at ATMs.

74.          Charlene Lam's total expenditure from her Revolut card during that period on items which did not relate to her business, and were not money transfers, savings, or cash withdrawals was in excess of €6,600. Her total expenditure from her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account on these items during that period was in excess of €4,400. Her total expenditure from her AIB Bank Artane current account on these items during that period was in excess of €10,200. This figure may also include some items which were business-related.

75.          On 10 January 2022 a card relating to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account was used in "Ballymac Service Station." This is located off the M1 motorway at Ballymascanlon, north of Dundalk. It was also used on the same day at Jury's Inn in Belfast, consistent with a trip to Northern Ireland.

76.          Charlene Lam used her Revolut card to book Ryanair Flights and other items costing €1,107 on 5 April 2022. She used this card to pay further sums of €32 and €11 to Ryanair, debited on 12 April 2022, and to settle bills for €55 and €30 at a hotel at Cascais in Portugal, debited on 12 and 13 April 2022. This card was also used in Lisbon Airport to pay for items debited on 13 April 2022. A card relating to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was used in Ireland to make purchases in Dealz and in the ILAC Centre which were debited on 12 April 2022.

77.          James Gately, Charlene Lam and one child travelled on Ryanair flights to and from Portugal on 12 and 16 April 2022. Charlene Lam has explained that this was a soccer tournament trip which she went on with her son. I accept this.

78.          Charlene Lam used her Revolut card to pay a fee of €64 at Dublin Airport Car Park which was debited to her account on 11 April 2022. This card was also used to make two payments of €32 and €11 to Ryanair which were debited on 13 April 2022. It was used to pay €55 and €30 at a hotel in Cascais which were debited 16 and 17 April 2022. It was also used to make a payment of €90 in "Terrazza" in Cascais and to make three payments of small sums in outlets at Terminal 2 in Lisbon Airport which were debited on 17 April 2022. It was used to make payments of €16 and €27 to Ryanair which were debited 18 and 19 April 2022.

79.          Charlene Lam's card relating to her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was debited on 19 April 2022 with €12 spent in Cascais. Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account was debited on 19 April 2022 with two amounts of €23 and €35 for items bought at a pharmacy in Portugal and in Cascais. It was also used in McDonalds in Cascais. Other money which James Gately or Charlene Lam spent on trips to Portugal at this time came from undisclosed sources.

80.          On 11 July 2022 Charlene Lam's Revolut card was debited with a sterling purchase at Starbucks in Belfast. Her AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was also debited that day with a sterling purchase at a Burger King outlet, consistent with a trip to Belfast.

81.          On 24 July 2022 Charlene Lam's Revolut account was debited with a card purchase in Nerja, on the Costa del Sol in Spain. On 25 July 2022 this account was debited with card purchases in the Enrique Tomás outlet in Malaga Airport and on a Ryanair flight. This flight must have been to Dublin because her Revolut card was debited on the following day with parking fee in Swords, County Dublin. Charlene Lam's AIB Bank current accounts show no indication of her source of funding for other costs of this trip to Spain.

82.          On 4 August 2022 Charlene Lam was issued with an extra Revolut card with a number ending "8789." On 10 August 2022 a card on her Revolut account was used to make a pounds sterling purchase from EasyJet, consistent with the cost of a flight from Belfast. She had previously been issued with an extra card on her Revolut account in March 2022 with a number ending "2127." This card was used to make the Ryanair booking on 5 April 2022 and an earlier booking on Booking.com which was debited on 2 April 2022 and subsequently cancelled.

83.          On 11 August 2022 Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Drumcondra current account was used to make a payment of STG£44 at Belfast International Airport. On 11 August 2022 Charlene Lam's extra Revolut card was debited for sterling purchases at a shop in Newry, a chemist in Banbridge, the W H Smith shop in Belfast International Airport, Starbucks in Belfast and on an EasyJet flight. It was also debited on the same day with Euro payment at Schiphol in the Netherlands. On the following day this card was debited for purchases at a supermarket in Wassenaar in the Netherlands and on an EasyJet flight. These purchases were all for small amounts. Charlene Lam's AIB Bank current accounts show no indication of the source of funding for this trip to the Netherlands.

84.          On 15 August 2022 Charlene Lam's extra Revolut card was debited for a purchase in the Northern Quarter in Belfast. On 16 August 2022 this account was debited twice for transactions in Wassenaar. The Bureau's deponent avers that these payments were made at a family resort in the Netherlands. On 18 August 2022 Charlene Lam's Revolut account was debited with a payment of €80 in Oegstgeest in the Netherlands and to make a small purchase in the Victoria's Secret shop at Schiphol Airport. Charlene Lam's AIB Bank current accounts show no indication of the source of funding for other costs incurred on these trips. A debit on 19 August 2022 shows that another card on this Revolut account was used to make a payment on an EasyJet flight. Other expenditure on this trip was funded by money from unknown sources.

85.          My overall conclusion from this analysis is the evidence shows that money from undisclosed sources made a substantial contribution towards the lifestyle of James Gately and Charlene Lam in the period between April 2019 and the end of 2022, except during some of the periods when Covid-19 restrictions were in place. This money topped up Charlene Lam's legitimate receipts and heavily contributed her ability to service monthly mortgage payments from legitimate receipts during that period. The extent of this contribution from undisclosed sources was much less significant during 2022. Also, some of the money which James Gately and Charlene Lam lived on after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted came from cash receipts from Charlene Lam's business which were not lodged to her AIB Bank current accounts.

86.          In the period between January 2022 and September 2022 Charlene Lam's receipts from her business and from other beauticians were sufficient to service monthly mortgage payments for Glin Drive. In the absence of balance sheets and profit and loss accounts it is difficult to get a sense of how much of the value of these receipts was used to meet expenses. I could only identify two payments by her during that period which were designated as "rent." Both of these were for €600. They were debited to Charlene Lam's AIB Bank Artane current account in May and September 2022. Any other payments by her of rent for her business premises during this period came from undisclosed means.

87.          During 2022 Charlene Lam and James Gately continued to use money which came from undisclosed sources. This money indirectly subsidised mortgage payments and other legitimate expenditure, but the extent which it did so is not possible to quantify with any precision.

88.          An interest in property which has been in part acquired with proceeds of crime is treated by the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 as being derived from proceeds of crime. This applies to any extent to which the equity of redemption on mortgaged properties is acquired with mortgage payments which were directly or indirectly part-funded from proceeds of crime.

89.          This treatment of property part-acquired with proceeds of crime is subject to a requirement of proportionality. If the evidence demonstrates that an injustice would result from an order under s.3(1) of 1996 Act, the High Court will refrain from making such an order. Knowledge of the source of money used by a person to acquire an interest in property is relevant to whether an order under s.3(1) of that Act would work an injustice on any person.

90.          I am prepared to direct that Charlene Lam receive a further payment from the net proceeds of sale of Glin Drive to reflect the fact that part of the means which funded her contributions towards mortgage payments for Glin Drive in the period between April 2019 and September 2022 comprised legitimate income which was not sourced in proceeds of crime. Taking into account all the circumstances set out in this judgment, I consider €6,000 to be an amount which gives fair and proportionate recognition to this contribution. I have decided not to make any adjustment to take into account the benefit which James Gately and Charlene Lam got by residing in Glin Drive and the additional loss of value to the State in the equity of redemption of this property.