A Cork man accused of money laundering said a Bulgarian businessman told him that he dealt in cash because banks in his country were not trusted.
60-year-old Ted Cunningham from Farran in Co Cork denies 20 charges of money laundering arising from the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in Belfast in 2004.
Today was the 34th day of Ted Cunningham's trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court but his first time giving evidence.
He told the jury that on various trips he made abroad, and during trips made here in late 2004, he meet Bulgarians who were interested in investing outside of their country.
One of them told Ted Cunningham that his business was cash-oriented and banks were not trusted in Bulgaria because they were run by the Russian Mafia. Asked if he could handle foreign currency cash, Ted Cunningham told them he could.
He said that three Bulgarians, a father and son and another man, were interested in a sand and gravel put in Shinrone in Co Offaly. They arranged to buy it from him for €4m.
He told the court he received various payments in sterling notes from the Bulgarians between October 2004 and January 2005. By the end of January 2005, he said, he had £3m in Bank of England, Northern Bank and Bank of Scotland issued notes.
He will continue giving evidence under examination by his own counsel Ciaran O'Loughlin tomorrow.
