Slovak businessman sentenced to 4 years’ jail in international money laundering case
Businessman jailed for four years for inciting undercover journalist to open companies
PUBLISHED : Monday, 08 September, 2014, 7:26pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 09 September, 2014, 3:00am
Bryan Harris [email protected]
Juraj Jariabka is carried away on a prison van after being sentenced to four years of imprisonment over money laundering. Photo: Nora Tam
A Slovak businessman whose international money-laundering plot came undone at the hands of an undercover journalist was jailed for four years yesterday after a dramatic trial.
Juraj Jariabka looked sullen as Judge David Dufton handed down the sentence after a District Court trial that lasted almost four months.
He had denied one count of incitement to deal with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence, but Dufton found him guilty, making him the first person punished for that offence.
"Money laundering is a serious offence and deterrence is required," said Dufton, adding that the act helped to spread crime and undermined the integrity of the banking system. The fact he had no previous conviction "carried little weight" as he was a visitor, the judge added.
The conviction was the result of an undercover investigation by Italian journalist Antonio Papaleo, who became the key prosecution witness.
Papaleo posed as a drug addict and alcoholic in a months-long operation to expose Jariabka. The court had heard that, in May last year, the defendant hired Papaleo to come to Hong Kong to establish two front companies and open a bank account, which the prosecution said were to receive the proceeds of crime.
Jariabka was arrested at the IFC Mall in Central a month later, on the strength of footage secretly obtained by the journalist.
The defendant had claimed he wanted to set up legitimate companies. But Dufton said that, if the operation had been legitimate, Papaleo would not have been sent to Hong Kong as the defendant could easily open accounts in his own name.
The judge said he was satisfied Papaleo was told to open the bank accounts and companies in a bid to mask the true identity of their owner.
There was drama on the trial's opening day, when Papaleo told the court he was threatened by a Slovak diplomat who stared at him "aggressively". The Italian was later stabbed in Phuket, Thailand; an incident apparently unconnected to the trial.
In mitigation yesterday, defence counsel Philip Ross said Jariabka had a sick mother at home, and that there was no suggestion the defendant was linked to organised crime.
Dufton said he saw no grounds to reduce the sentence.
