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Man due in court charged in connection with Michael Lynn money-laundering probe following raids

Accused is alleged to have refused to supply passwords to phones and laptops

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Today at 07:02

A man is due before a court next week charged in connection with a ­money-laundering investigation into former solicitor and property developer Michael Lynn.

Detectives conducted several raids last month in a hunt for substantial assets suspected of being hidden away by the convicted thief, who is awaiting sentencing for stealing around €17.9m from six financial institutions.

A foreign national associated with Lynn was arrested following the search of a property in south Dublin on ­January 9 and was subsequently charged with obstructing a garda. The charges ­relate to the alleged refusal of the man to provide passwords for phones and a laptop seized during a search of his apartment.

He is due to appear in court in the coming days.

The charges are the first to be brought as part of a wide-ranging investigation led by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).

The man is a company director. One of his firms owns at least one Irish property which has been linked to Lynn.

As part of the probe, it is understood, the bank accounts of three firms, containing around €2.5m, have been frozen.

Mayo-born Lynn (55), of Millbrook Court, Redcross, Co Wicklow, was found guilty in December on 10 of 21 charges he faced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

He had denied the 21 counts of theft, which related to dates between October 23, 2006, and April 20, 2007. The funds were used to pay for a foreign property empire and an extravagant lifestyle.

As well as operating a legal practice, he was involved in building projects in Portugal, Hungary and Bulgaria via his company Kendar Holdings.

Last month detectives carried out searches of five properties. More than 30 officers were involved.

Lynn’s family home in Co Wicklow was one of the properties searched as part of the probe.

The purpose of the investigation is to find assets and proceeds of crime.

It is understood more searches are planned, as well as a detailed analysis of bank accounts, financial transactions and companies.

Lynn is currently being held in Cloverhill Prison awaiting a sentencing hearing on February 19.

His sentencing was put back to that date after his legal team sought time for the preparation of a psychological report. It has been indicated Lynn will be called to give evidence at the hearing.

Lynn fled Ireland after he came under investigation in 2007 for taking out multiple mortgages on the same properties.

He moved around Europe before going to Brazil in 2011, which had no formal extradition treaty with Ireland.

But he was returned to Ireland in 2018 under an ad hoc arrangement ­after spending four-and-a-half years in a Brazilian jail fighting extradition.

He finally went on trial in 2022 but the jury was discharged after failing to reach a verdict.

A jury in a second trial last year was able to come in with verdicts in relation to just under half of the charges.

The court heard Lynn obtained multiple mortgages on the same properties in a situation where banks were unaware that other institutions were also providing finance.

The properties included Glenlion, Lynn’s €5.5m home in Howth, Co Dublin, and multiple investment properties.

The financial institutions involved were Bank of Ireland, National Irish Bank, Irish Life and Permanent, Ulster Bank, ACC Bank, Bank of Scotland Ireland Ltd and Irish Nationwide Building Society.

Lynn claimed the banks were aware he had multiple loans on the same properties and that this was custom and practice among bankers in Celtic Tiger Ireland.