The clothing charity at the centre of this week’s money laundering raids by gardaí shares an address with a commercial firm that is run by an associate of the charity’s chief executive, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
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Mail → share → Sunday
Liberty Recycling, chaired by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, was the focus of a series of targeted raids by the money laundering investigation unit at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau this week.
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Recycling → chair → Bureau
Responding to the raids this weekend, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that her party supports the Garda investigation.
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party → respond → investigation
Liberty Recycling, chaired by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, was the focus of a series of targeted raids by the money laundering investigation unit at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau this week
‘If there is evidence of wrongdoing, that needs to come to light, and there has to be consequences for anybody carrying out any wrongdoing,’ she told reporters.
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she → chair → reporters
Liberty Recycling collects and sorts second-hand clothing at its depot in Dublin’s Bluebell Industrial Estate.
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Recycling → collect → Estate
These graded clothes are then resold via the charity’s nine shops across the country and at markets in locations overseas such as Nigeria, Benin, India and Pakistan.
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clothes → grade → Nigeria
According to Liberty, other textiles not suitable for resale as clothing are ‘cut and baled into cleaning wipes for local customers including motor factors and cleaning companies’.
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textiles → accord → factors
However, Liberty Recycling is not the only entity engaged in this activity registered at its Bluebell headquarters.
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Recycling → engage → headquarters
Company Registration Office (CRO) records show that a for-profit business, which is not registered with the Charity Regulator, is also registered at the charity’s depot.
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which → show → depot
This commercial operation actively advertises its products online and its website lists the Bluebell address.
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website → advertise → address
It describes itself as a 30-year-old family business.
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It → describe → business
It also purports to be one of Europe’s leading textile merchants and a leading supplier of cleaning wipes in Ireland.
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It → purport → Ireland
The commercial operation is registered in the name of a close associate of Liberty’s CEO, Philip Moloney.
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operation → register → CEO
Responding to the raids this weekend, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that her party supports the Garda investigation
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Mr Moloney or his associate.
Yesterday the associate replied by text to a series of MoS questions about the nature of the relationship, if any, between Liberty Recycling and the commercial firm that purports to operate from the same depot.
Given that both entities are in the same industry and are registered to the same address, we asked them to explain the nature of any commercial or other relationship that they may have.
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they → respond → that
We also asked how any potential conflicts of interest that might have arisen between the charity and the commercial operation were managed.
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that → ask → charity
We asked this question because – despite being registered to the same address, being run by close associates and being in the same business – neither Liberty nor the commercial firm refer to each other in any public records or business accounts.
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Liberty → ask → records
‘To clarify, the business has never operated from this address.
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business → clarify → address
There is no connection between both entities,’ the associate yesterday told the MoS.
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associate → be → MoS.
Mr Maloney did not respond to any questions.
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Maloney → respond → questions
Unlike most Irish charities, Liberty Recycling does not use an accounting standard that is known as SORP (statement of recommended practice).
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that → use → practice
Under the SORP standard, which is encouraged by the Charities Regulator but not yet mandatory, related party transactions and the salary bands of senior managers must be disclosed.
However, since Liberty Recycling does not apply this standard, it is impossible to see whether or not the charity and the commercial firm registered to the same address are supplying any goods and services to each other.
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charity → encourage → other
Liberty Recycling was founded as a charity in 2001, with Ó Snodaigh among the four founding board members.
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Recycling → found → members
It is also closely associated with the Franciscan order and the Merchants Quay homeless and addiction service.
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It → associate → order
The charity stemmed from the experience of Mr Moloney, whose family had traded clothes in the Iveagh Market in Dublin’s Liberties district at a time when the inner-city area was in the midst of a vicious heroin epidemic.
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area → stem → epidemic
The charity stemmed from the experience of Mr Moloney (first on the right), whose family had traded clothes in the Iveagh Market in Dublin’s Liberties district at a time when the inner-city area was in the midst of a vicious heroin epidemic.
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area → stem → epidemic
Today it is run through a non-profit company that is called Liberty Recycling Training And Development CLG, and it provides employment and rehabilitation for drug users.
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it → run → users
In the past decade, as much as €5million in taxpayer funds have been provided to Liberty to pay for Community Employment scheme jobs they created for recovering addicts.
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they → provide → addicts
The company recorded a total income of €3.6million in 2024 – 43 per cent of which (€1.3m) came from abroad.
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cent → record → which
With their expenditures of €3.9million in 2024, the charity incurred a loss of €347,000.
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charity → incur → 347,000
It has retained profits on its books of €744,000.
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It → retain → 744,000
In all, 97 staff, including 67 sorting personnel and 13 sales staff, were employed in 2024.
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staff → include → 2024
This week’s Garda operation targeted locations associated with Liberty in Dublin, as well as elsewhere in the eastern and southern regions of the country.
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operation → target → country
Acting on foot of warrants, gardaí seized two BMW X5 cars, watches and designer bags.
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gardaí → act → cars
The cars are believed to be worth around €250,000, with the other items valued at €40,000.
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items → believe → 40,000
This week’s raids took place after the Charities Regulator had alerted gardaí to suspected discrepancies in the company’s charitable activities.
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Regulator → take → activities
But other than to confirm that it is engaging with Liberty’s trustees, the Regulator has declined to comment further.
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Regulator → confirm → trustees
The Regulator also did not respond to our queries about the commercial firm registered at Liberty’s address.
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Regulator → respond → address
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we → accept → article
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