Two Nigerian men residing in Ireland have been sentenced to a combined 16-plus years in prison following their conviction in a large-scale international money laundering operation that authorities described as highly sophisticated.
Francis Ogbuefi, 42, of Clonard Road, Crumlin, Dublin, received a nine-year term, while Steven Silvester, 32, of The Paddocks, Morristown, Newbridge, County Kildare, was handed seven and a half years. The convictions followed a lengthy probe by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.
Prosecutors told the court that both men had travelled from Nigeria to Ireland specifically to participate in organised fraud networks, with the total value of scams linked to the case put at approximately €6.17 million. A jury found them guilty last month despite both men entering not guilty pleas.
According to court documents cited by RTÉ, the funds were fraudulently obtained and laundered through several schemes among them romance scams and smishing with proceeds funnelled across a web of bank accounts. The duo were said to have managed and supervised accounts used to receive illicit funds, fielding instructions from collaborators across the globe, many traced to Nigerian phone numbers, to arrange accounts for fraudulent transfers.
Evidence extracted from Ogbuefi’s phone painted a picture of a man at the centre of the operation. The device allegedly contained detailed operational instructions, including assigned job roles, expected transaction volumes, and account requirements. He was also accused of directing associates to open accounts under Irish identities to avoid detection and was described by prosecutors as a key coordinator for individuals operating beyond Irish borders.
Investigators additionally uncovered a nine-minute instructional video on how to carry out the fraud, as well as images purportedly showing Ogbuefi overseeing transactions within the network. He was said to have taken a 20 percent cut of the proceeds and boasted considerable experience in running such schemes.
The court heard that Ogbuefi had originally entered Ireland on a student visa, while Silvester had previously been in the direct provision system before living a more transient lifestyle.
Presiding judge Martin Nolan described the operation as intricate and noted that money laundering at this scale hinges on access to bank accounts. He remarked that both men demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of banking infrastructure and had repeatedly probed its vulnerabilities.
While acknowledging the complexity of uncovering such crimes, Judge Nolan commended investigators for their persistence and the quality of evidence brought before the court. He also noted that neither man had a prior criminal record and were spoken of highly by their families, adding that both appeared intelligent and capable of turning their lives around.
