A Co Antrim alleged loan shark appeared in court on Tuesday accused of acquiring £68,000 of cash which was criminal property.
Standing in the dock of Antrim Magistrates court, sitting in Ballymena, 44-year-old Steven Francis Spence confirmed that he understood the three charges against him, alleged to have been committed between 1 January 2015 and 11 February 2019.
Spence, from Greenland Parade in Larne, is accused of carrying out a “regulated activity” in breach of The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, acquiring criminal property namely cash deposits to his Halifax account amounting to £68,352 and using criminal property.
None of the alleged facts surrounding the charges were opened in court during the Preliminary Enquiry, the legal step necessary to elevate any case to the Crown Court.
Freeing the 44-year-old on his own bail of £500, District Judge Nigel Broderick returned the case to Antrim Crown Court and scheduled the arraignment to be heard on 4 July.