Midlands Man Who Deceived Victims Out Of Combined Total Of Almost €208,000 To Be Returned For Trial

39 year old Bright Banda, formerly of Meadow Lane, Roscommon Road, Athlone, Co Roscommon is facing the charges.

A man charged with deceiving five separate alleged victims into transferring a combined total of almost €208,000 on various dates between February 2023 and January 2026, is expected to be returned for trial next month.

On January 14 of this year, Bright Banda (39), formerly of Meadow Lane, Roscommon Road, Athlone, Co Roscommon, was remanded in custody with consent to bail subject to a hefty independent surety of €10,000 as well as his own bond of €5,000.

An application before the High Court saw that independent surety reduced to €7,500. He has not yet been able to take up bail and remains in custody.

The court previously heard details of charges against Mr Banda relating to a single named victim in February and March of 2023. Since his arrest in January of this year, four more victims have come forward with eight new charges brought before the court this afternoon.

It was previously heard how, on February 13, 2023, at an address on Sarsfield Square, Athlone, it is alleged that Mr Banda dishonestly by deception induced a woman to transfer €1,000 to his account in the belief she was giving him money to buy a white Volkswagen Polo car.

Two identical charges of €1,000 transfers arose on February 17 and March 31, 2023, with the woman again believing she was transferring the money to help the accused purchase a car.

A further charge on March 31, 2023 at Athlone Credit Union, alleges that Mr Banda induced the same woman to transfer €14,000 from her Credit Union account to his AIB account, with the reference “car balance”, and made her believe it was for his truck business in Malawi and that she would be repaid.

This morning, Garda Gavin Conway further charged him with eight similar offences, pertaining to five separate named victims, including more allegations by the first named victim.

Mr Banda is now charged with dishonesty by deception inducing the same named victim to transfer funds via her Revolut account between February 1, 2023, and November 15, 2025, under the guise that she was helping him fund his business in Malawi, and causing her a loss of €105,939.83.

A further allegation by the same victim relates to the same date range, when Mr Banda is charged with inducing her to transfer funds via her AIB account, again believing she was helping his business in Malawi, and causing her a loss of €28,265.70. Both of those charges took place on Sarsfield Square, Athlone.

Mr Banda has also been charged with inducing a second named victim to transfer him a total of €3,000 on a date between January 23, 2025 and February 3, 2025, at an address in Athlone, with the alleged victim believing Mr Banda had purchased a vehicle for him.

Another charge relates to a date between April 1, 2025 and November 1, 2025 at Meadow Lane, Athlone, when it is alleged he deceived a third named victim into transferring him €1,500 via Revolut under the pretense that he had located a property in which she could reside.

Two charges relate to a fourth alleged named victim at an address in Ballymahon, Co Longford. The first of those is alleged to have taken place between January 2 and November 7, 2024, when it is alleged he deceived the man into transferring him €7,700 via Bitcoin, believing that Mr Banda had purchased two vehicles for him.

The second of those charges is alleged to have taken place between October 10 and December 10, 2024, when the same victim alleges he was induced to transfer €7,500 to the accused via Revolut, again under the impression Mr Banda had purchased two vehicles for him.

The final two charges relate to a fifth named victim on dates between October 1, 2025, and January 7, 2026, at an address in Kilbarrack, Dublin 13. Mr Banda is charged with dishonestly, by deception, inducing a woman to transfer €32,206.22 via Wise money transfer app, which she believed was to invest in a number of Air BnB businesses.

The second charge relating to that victim alleges she was induced to transfer €4,225.10 via Revolut, again with the belief she was investing in an Air BnB business.

The total amount transferred by the five alleged victims comes to €207,336.85. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed trial on indictment, and Sergeant Paul McNally informed the court that a book of evidence should be ready for service on Mr Banda on June 3 next. Mr Banda was remanded in custody with consent to bail until that date.

In a contested bail hearing on January 14, Garda Gavin Conway outlined his concerns that Mr Banda, who is an Irish citizen, holds two Irish passports - one paper and one passport card - but Gardaí were only in possession of one, with the whereabouts of the other unknown.

He outlined Garda fears that Mr Banda would return to his native Malawi if given bail, as he has money, family and a number of businesses over there, including a truck business called Coosan Logistics and a pre-school called Happy Learning.

While he has ties to this country - an ex partner with two children, and a third child from another partner - he is not living with them and Gardaí did not believe he would stay in the country.

“I believe he’ll return to Malawi where he confirmed he has a lot of money and businesses and family members. I don’t believe he’ll return if he goes,” Garda Conway told the court during the bail hearing.

Mr Banda also had a social media account under a different name, he added, and had been “portraying a lifestyle” under that name, causing Gardaí more concern for the missing passport card.

“He also made up these stories to the (first) injured party to get money out of her. He has €100,000 in Malawi and said he was going to send money back. He freely suggested in interview that he was going back to Malawi to send money back,” he said.

Mr Banda was in Paris when Gardaí first contacted him about the case, waiting to catch a plane to Malawi two hours later, but he returned to Ireland to meet with Gardaí.

“He’s had a job for the last seven years and is an Irish citizen. He has absolutely no intention of going back to Malawi. He came as an economic migrant and has a much better life here. He has funds to pay the alleged victim. He has provided an address, he has a job,” said solicitor Dara Hayden on behalf of his client at the bail hearing in January.

A Battery Heights address provided to the court as an address at which he could reside on bail is his ex partner’s house, the court heard. His own house in Meadow Lane was put up for sale and so he did not have an address of his own. He was welcome to stay with his ex partner “at most for three weeks”, the court heard in January.

Judge Bernadette Owens noted Mr Banda has been residing in the country for 15 years, has been employed for seven years, has ties in Ireland and is an Irish citizen. She also noted that he returned to Ireland from Paris when contacted by Gardaí instead of flying onward to Malawi as was his intention.

With that in mind, she decided to grant him bail, “but with strict conditions”. Those conditions included an own bond of €5,000 with Mr Banda ordered to lodge €2,500 of that. An independent surety of €10,000 was also directed, to be approved by Gardaí and €5,000 of to be lodged before Mr Banda is released.

An application made to the High Court since then saw that independent surety reduced to €7,500, with €3,500 of that to be lodged.

Should he manage to make bail, he is to reside at Battery Heights, Athlone, and seek Garda Conway’s approval for a change of address. He is also required to sign on daily at Athlone Garda Station, provide a mobile number within 48 hours of release and be contactable at all times, and to have no contact with the injured party.