Money lodged in a German bank account by a man implicated in an alleged fraud turned up in the TSB bank in Midleton, Cork Criminal Circuit Court has been told.
Before the court are Ms Maria Bernadetta Jehle, a Swiss national, and Mr Ernst Gunther Hollman, a German, both of The Priory, Cobh. They each deny two charges of handling money knowing it to be the proceeds of other people's criminal activities.
Mr Klaus Altenhoffer, an official of Commerzbank in Germany, said that in April 1997 a man named Peter Jehle opened an account and soon after lodged Ffr800,000 via a cheque drawn on a French bank in Lille.
The next transaction, which took place later that month, was a transfer of DM235,000 to an account in the TSB bank, Midleton, Co Cork in the name of Jehle. Two officials of Credit Suisse bank, Mr Max Payer and Mr Hugo Muller, told the court that documents purportedly coming from the bank were forgeries.
Mr Payer said that a document showing the transfer of DM2m to a bank in Monaco was not issued by his bank. Mr Muller said a fax from Credit Suisse to Peter Jehle was also a forgery.
"Neither Peter Jehle nor Sven Uwe Palisch were ever customers of our bank," he said.
It is the State's case that Mr Peter Jehle - son of Ms Jehle - and Mr Palisch defrauded a German businessman and a French dentist in 1996/7 and that the proceeds were subsequently laundered by the two defendants.
Mr Michael O'Brien, formerly assistant manager of the AIB in Cahir, told the court that Ms Maria Bernadette Jehle opened an account with the bank in 1990. On August 12th, 1996, DM500,000 was lodged to her account. This cleared a debt owed on a loan account which was used to buy either The Priory in Cobh or another property called Mount Equity in Athlone.
The case continues today.