Disgraced former Bóthar chief executive, David Moloney, has revealed the elaborate scheme he claims he and the international aid charity’s co-founder Peter Ireton used to steal €1.1m.
A court order has been issued to prevent Mr Moloney from reducing his assets below 1.1 million. For 20 years the two men concocted fake projects in Africa and Eastern Europe near the beginning or end of the charity’s financial year, allowing them to avoid scrutiny and pocket the proceeds, according to Mr Moloney (56).Illegitimate payments were sometimes mixed up with legitimate ones so they would not be noticed and fake projects were never recorded in the charity’s annual report. Between them, the two men shared around €505,000 in cash which was purported to have been given to projects run by nuns in Tanzania and Zambia, Mr Moloney claims. He alleged Mr Ireton (68), who died last month, originally received the majority of the proceeds, but they later split the cash evenly.
The money for the fake projects would then be withdrawn from Bóthar’s bank accounts using cheques made out to cash. Mr Moloney detailed how more than €240,000 was taken from donations to the Limerick-headquartered charity and given to staff as Christmas bonuses over a 20-year period. Staff believed the bonuses were legitimate and auditors were fobbed off when they asked questions.
The extraordinary account of the fraud and attempted cover-up was outlined in an affidavit filed by Mr Moloney in the High Court. The Charity had begun court proceedings to unravel the finances of the organisation which is headquartered in Limerick. The Garda investigation continues.
