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MEATH COUNTY COUNCIL has confirmed that it was the subject of an attempt to steal €4 million.
The council confirmed the news this afternoon in a statement.
It said that the attempt involved the theft of the identity of chief executive Jackie Maguire. The plan was, however, detected before it was completed.
“The Council’s bank was alerted and the matter was reported to the gardaí who provided assistance through the Financial Intelligence Unit in the National Economic Crime Bureau and through Interpol. The funds have been secured and the matter is now the subject of criminal investigations and legal proceedings in Ireland and abroad.
“In light of the ongoing investigations, the Council has been advised to make no further comment on the matter at this time.”
Sinn Féin councillor Darren O’Rourke said the attempt was “shocking”.
“The sum involved, over €4.3m, is staggering. It really is a huge relief to the council and indeed to everyone associated or who uses the services of Meath County Council that this issue was caught before it was too late. The council’s checks and balances kicked in and served them very well on this occasion. Everyone should be very grateful for that.
“Of utmost importance now is that the transfer of funds back into Meath County Councils account happens as soon as possible and that every effort is made to secure a successful prosecution against those involved.”
They were just temporarily providing the funds to a Nigerian prince to release his €600 million inheritance.
must have been afraid meath co.co would squander it
The Russians again. They discovered the attempt when the withdrawal slip was signed Vladimir Putin.
@Hugh Mannatee: Or it might have been a West African prince posing as Mr. Putin.
So they did actually get the funds, but the bank didn’t transfer them forward. Which means the Co Co’s security was defeated……
@John Moylan: I thought so myself, how did an Asian CEO fool a clerk with that much money under their control?
Most likely involved the hackers ringing Jackie and asking her what her password was.
They were caught because her password had a capital “W” in “Welcome12″
4 mill they would want to spend it before the end off the year or it has to go back to the finance minister and redirected elsewhere.
The lights will be out in navan this Christmas
How much did Meath coco lose by not lodging cheques from developers? At least it was caught. Identity theft is an up and coming problem. Imagine being Enda for a day!
….The money did leave the country and it got to Hong Kong.
It was just resting in that account
Was the chief executive Jack Maguire using a personal gmail account for council business? Or even a Yahoo one?
Any chance they can use some of it to build a better carpark in the town huns <3
Just chickenfeed… Noonan & co gave away 30 bn.. no chance of any recovery there
Step1 Create a JackMaguire@gmail.com account
Step2 Email Finance department to transfer 4million of funds to HK
Step3 Profit ??
Looks like the Americans won’t be the only ones asking the Chinese for their ball back…
I bet it was Offaly….
Just chickenfeed….noonan&co gave 30 bn
But all they had was 4 euro
Maguire should be fired for not having the correct controls in place
@Patrick Carthy: Time to go Back to Cash,it IS King,forget about Satans Currencey Bitcoin.
A Nigerian scam
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