Jim Mansfield Jnr ‘given suitcases containing €4.5m as part of failed property investment by Kinahan cartel’ – High Court

 5th April 2022

Businessman Jim Mansfield Jnr was given two suitcases containing €4.5 million as part of a property investment by the Kinahan cartel, the High Court has heard.

However, the deal fell through when Mansfield’s fortune deteriorated, and the international crime gang were instead given a luxury mansion and cash as repayment.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) today secured orders to seize the west Dublin mansion- valued in excess of €1m- and cash sums totalling €50,000

Counsel for the CAB said that 10 Coldwater Lakes in Saggart was of historical interest to the Mansfield family but that it is controlled by the Kinahan cartel.

Outlining the background of the case Shelley Horan BL, for the Bureau, said it is their belief that the Kinahan gang had made a substantial investment in various properties Jim Mansfield Jnr was developing.

She said detailed statements were taken of interactions involving the respondents in the case; cartel leader Daniel Kinahan, Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh, and Mansfield Jnr.

Kavanagh, she said, was an “international drug trafficker and key in the Kinahan organised crime group”. The High Court has previously ruled that Daniel Kinahan is the leader of that gang.

Evidence was given that in 2009, Jim Mansfield Jnr was given two suitcases, containing a total of €4.5m, as part of the investments by the Kinahan cartel.

However, the Mansfield fortune “deteriorated” following the financial crash before going into receivership and the relationship “soured”.

Ms Horan said that Kinahan and Kavanagh were then given the property and cash payments instead.

One cash sum of €5,000 was found in an envelope marked ‘KAVS’ in the basement of Tassagart House in Saggart, where Mansfield Jnr resided, during a search on January 29, 2015.

While the cash was “earmarked”, nobody claimed ownership over the funds.

There were also separate sums of €24,150 and €20,500 recovered at different properties, understood to be attempts to repay the Kinahan and Kavanagh organised crime groups.

The barrister also said that 10 Coldwater Lakes was occupied and in the control of Daniel Kinahan from 2014. This belief was formed due to the nature of items linked to him discovered at the property.

The court was told there had also been attempts to convey legitimate ownership of the property to Thomas Kavanagh but that this was never affected.

Evidence was given that the garda investigation recovered ledgers tracking payments between the Mansfields and the Kinahan cartel, with one document titled “Jimmy money”.

The Bureau has also made efforts to serve orders on Dubai-based Kinahan, but this has not yet been successful and may need to be done via social media.

Counsel also said there may be a “business associate” of Kinahan in discussion with the Bureau who may be willing to accept the papers.

Ms Horan said it was “quite important” that service is affected on Daniel Kinahan for the resolution of the case.

She also made an application to serve papers on Thomas Kavanagh at HMP prison in Norwich where he is serving a 21-year jail term for drug trafficking.

The court heard his brothers-in-law are David Byrne- shot dead in the “infamous” Regency Hotel murder in 2016- and Liam Byrne who is the leader of a “sub-unit” of the wider Kinahan cartel.

Mansfield Jnr is currently serving a jail term in the Midlands prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice relating to the false imprisonment of his former security guard.

The Special Criminal Court found that he ordered an employee to destroy CCTV footage relating to the investigation into the attack led by dissident terrorists Dessie O’Hare and Declan Duffy.

Jim Jnr, his brother PJ and their mother Anne are respondents in the case.

They were legally represented today with the court hearing they agreed not to contest the matter with the CAB. Their barrister added that they wish the matter to conclude swiftly.

The court was also told it was reflected in their agreement with the Bureau that they disown any interest in the assets listed in the case.

Mr Justice Michael MacGrath, sitting in Croke Park, granted the CAB orders to seize the property and cash, and to remit the assets to the exchequer.

The case will return before the High Court next month for an update on orders being served on Kinahan and Kavanagh.