Edward Evbagharu: three accounts in a €49,188 romance scam
A French man was drawn into an online relationship with a supposed Saudi refugee and told that payments would unlock €5 million. None of his €49,188 was recovered. Three accounts belonging to Edward Evbagharu carried €31,000 of the proceeds.
Evbagharu was born in Nigeria, moved to Ireland in 2009 and became an Irish citizen in 2013, according to his counsel. Citizenship is a material legal distinction: this file does not portray him as deportable or as a non-citizen.
The invented inheritance
The victim met a woman on a dating site. She claimed to be from Saudi Arabia, living as a refugee in Texas, and unable to access €5 million held in an Irish account. Believing the relationship and story, he dealt with supposed lawyers and made payments over six months.
The total loss was €49,188. None was recovered. About €31,000 moved through Evbagharu's An Post, Ria Money Transfer and TransferWise accounts, although two co-accused controlled those accounts.
What the court did and did not find
Evbagharu pleaded guilty to money laundering between 12 February and 9 June 2021. Judge Dara Hayes said there was no evidence that Evbagharu himself defrauded the victim; his criminal role was facilitating the movement of the money.
His claim was that a man he knew lacked a bank account and that he had made no gain. The investigating detective did not accept the account, noting that Evbagharu had not returned with documents supporting it. The judge treated the scheme's sophistication, duration and the substantial money crossing his accounts as aggravating.
Prior record
The court was told that Evbagharu had 11 previous convictions: one for handling stolen property and ten road-traffic convictions. An earlier open-court report records the 2013 handling case, in which he accepted delivery of a phone bought using another person's credit-card details.
The precise offences behind the ten traffic convictions were not itemised in the reviewed sentence report and are not embellished here.
The victim paid beyond money
A victim-impact report described deep anxiety and depression, psychiatric care since May 2023, medication and cardiac problems. The French man said his life had been turned upside down and that he had become a shadow of his former self. He was relying on State support in France.
The court imposed two years and suspended the final year. The effective immediate term was one year, subject to ordinary prison administration.
Chronology
- 2009: Evbagharu reportedly moves from Nigeria to Ireland.
- 2013: becomes an Irish citizen; earlier handling-stolen-property case is reported.
- 12 February-9 June 2021: money-laundering offence period.
- 5 March 2026: two years imposed with the final year suspended.
Public-cost benchmark
One immediate year at the 2024 Irish Prison Service average of €99,072 per available staffed space produces a gross benchmark of €99,072. This is not a case invoice or marginal cost and does not establish his release date. It excludes Garda, court, legal-aid and victim-support costs and the unrecovered €49,188.
Sources
- BreakingNews.ie, 5 March 2026 — direct sentence report, money flow, citizenship and victim impact.
- The Echo, 19 March 2026 edition — local court report.
- Bray People / Irish Independent, 8 May 2013 — earlier handling-stolen-property case.
- Irish Statute Book, Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 — statutory framework.
- Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024 — cost benchmark.
Record checked: 31 July 2026. The scam operator who created the false relationship is not identified as Evbagharu in the reviewed reports.