A trustee of the clothing charity at the centre of a criminal money laundering probe also worked as the assistant to the CEO, according to her LinkedIn page.
uncertain
trustee → work → page
But rather than acting independently as trustees the Charities Regulator found they ‘remained fully supportive of their senior employees’ when they should have been taking ‘precautionary steps to suspend them’.
asserted
they → act → them
There is no suggestion that the trustees themselves are engaged in the suspected money laundering by an illegal criminal organisation thought to have infiltrated the charity.
asserted
trustees → be → charity
Best practice charity guidelines encourage charities not to appoint board members who are also paid staff members.
asserted
who → encourage → members
Under the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024 the Minister has the power to introduce regulations governing the appointment of any employees as trustees.
asserted
Minister → have → trustees
However, this has not been done yet so for now charity employees can become trustees provided strict conflict of interest rules and tests are applied and there is no breach of a charity’s constitution.
asserted
rules → do → constitution
It is though prohibited – under Section 54A. (1) (b) of the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024 – for a majority of charity trustees to be ‘connected relatives’ – as was the case at Liberty since the beginning of October.
asserted
majority → prohibit → October
As it moved to close down Liberty Recycling this week, the Charities Regulator was scathing of the manner in which the trustees had discharged their duties.
asserted
trustees → move → duties
According to the Regulator, the trustees displayed a ‘lack of engagement with, and appreciation for, the seriousness of the situation in which’ the charity they govern found itself in.
uncertain
they → accord → itself
The charity’s chairman Mr Ó Snodaigh has been in place since 2022 – the same year that Linda Behan became a trustee.
asserted
Behan → become → 2022
As trustees of Liberty Recycling, Linda Behan, her husband Brian Behan – together with Sinn Féin TD, Aengus Ó Snodaigh –- are legally responsible for the governance of the charity
As well as working as the CEO’s assistant, Mrs Behan is the treasurer of Liberty Recycling.
asserted
Behan → work → Recycling
In recent weeks a third trustee, Gabriel Kinahan – a Franciscan monk associated with the Merchants Quay homeless and addiction centre – was replaced by Brian Behan.
asserted
trustee → associate → Behan
A well-known antiques dealer trading on Dublin’s Francis Street, Mr Behan is the husband of Liberties native Linda Behan.
asserted
Behan → know → Behan
Speaking to the MoS this week, Mr Behan said he could not comment on the criticism levelled at trustees by the Regulator.
uncertain
he → speak → Regulator
‘I don’t know anything about that.
asserted
I → know → that
I can’t really comment,’ he said.
asserted
he → comment → ?
‘This is not my thing so I can’t really comment on it,’ he added.
asserted
he → comment → it
‘It’s an ongoing investigation...
asserted
It → ’ → ?
I don’t know anything about this.’
asserted
I → know → this
Mr Behan said his wife was not one of the senior employees identified by the Regulator as using the luxury vehicles bought with charity funds.
asserted
wife → say → funds
‘No, no…she wouldn’t have access to any vehicles,’ he said.
asserted
he → have → vehicles
‘We’re very shaken up by all of this, as well as you can imagine because we were not involved in any of this, you know.
asserted
you → ’re → this
We don’t know anything about it.’
asserted
We → know → it
In its High Court petition to appoint liquidators to Liberty on Tuesday, the Regulator criticised the trustees, saying they had failed to display ‘any urgency’ to ‘very serious questions’ being asked by the Regulator’s director of compliance.
asserted
they → appoint → compliance
The Regulator informed the court that it had tried twice, without success, to contact the trustees by phone on Tuesday October 20, as Garda raids were underway at the Bluebell HQ of the charity – and the Crumlin home of its CEO Philip Moloney Snr.
asserted
raids → inform → CEO
The MoS has confirmed with neighbours that luxury BMW vehicles seized that day were taken from the home of Mr Moloney Snr – the direct boss of trustee Linda Behan.
asserted
vehicles → confirm → Behan
The Crumlin home is also listed as the residence of the Moloney’s youngest son Adam – a manager at the charity.
asserted
home → list → charity
The day after the raids, on Wednesday, October 21, Mr Ó Snodaigh took the lead and began dealing with the Regulator by phone.
asserted
Snodaigh → take → phone
At that point, he told the Regulator’s director of compliance that the trustees were aware of the raids the previous day and that the CEO was travelling home from abroad.
asserted
CEO → tell → raids
He also said the trustees were not aware that two other firms linked to the charity – Liberty Global Exports Company and Liberty CE Scheme Project Company – were not actually registered charities themselves.
asserted
firms → say → charity
He added, ‘the trustees did not know who the directors of these firms were’ even though he and Linda Behan are listed as directors of these firms themselves.
asserted
he → add → firms
The following day, on Thursday, October 22, the Regulator emailed each the trustees seeking information and accounts and requested that each of them ‘separately acknowledge receipt of the correspondence.’
asserted
each → email → correspondence
They all failed to do so.
asserted
They → fail → ?
According to the Regulator, the trustees displayed a ‘lack of engagement with, and appreciation for, the seriousness of the situation in which’ the charity they govern found itself in
On Friday, October 23, the Regulator was informed by gardai of ‘further large scale irregularities’ including the purchase of a Porsche in 2025 and a BMW jeep in 2026 in the name of another linked firm – Liberty Developments.
uncertain
Regulator → accord → firm
Liberty Developments is registered at the charity’s Bluebell HQ but is not a charity.
asserted
Developments → register → HQ
It is owned by the CEO – Philip Moloney Snr – and his son Adam.
asserted
It → own → CEO
Upon hearing of a third non-charitable entity operating from the charity’s HQ the Regulator stepped up its enforcement activity.
asserted
Regulator → operate → activity
‘You are responsible for the control and management of the Charity and it appears that you are not in a position to answer any of the questions or provide any information requested,’ the trustees were informed by letter.
asserted
trustees → appear → letter
‘We are concerned that as charity trustees you are not fully informed or aware of certain fundamental information, such as the relationship with recently incorporated entities, of which you are also Directors which are not registered charities but which you may have been led to believe were associated charities to which assets of the Charity may have been transferred and to which payments may have been made.’
uncertain
payments → incorporate → which
The Regulator told the trustees that any such transfers would be contrary to charity law and requested an immediate meeting.
asserted
transfers → tell → meeting
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
