A property developer and legal adviser to Michael Lynn is suing An Garda Síochána for compelling him to hand over his passwords during an investigation relating to the disgraced former solicitor.
Yavor Poptoshev (48), a Bulgarian national who describes himself as a personal friend and business partner of Lynn, is due before the District Court on Tuesday to face three criminal charges of failing to hand over the passwords to two smartphones and a laptop seized during a search.
The search was one of several carried out by members of Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).
Mr Poptoshev, a father of two who has lived in Ireland for 18 months, is the director of a number of companies.
“It would appear that An Garda Síochána were investigating [Mr Poptoshev’s] potential involvement in some of the offending,” his lawyers stated.
The businessman said he has known Lynn for 14 or 15 years and worked with him on projects in several countries, including Portugal, Hungary and Slovakia.
Mr Poptoshev said he assisted the former solicitor during his 2023 retrial which ended in Lynn’s conviction on 10 counts of theft from various financial institutions, totalling €17.9 million, in 2006 and 2007.
The Bulgarian said he assisted Lynn in examining very large volumes of legal documentation and provided “extremely forensic” assistance and analysis in the case. He was present for many legal consultations with Lynn’s lawyers and kept large quantities of case files in his home in Stillorgan, Dublin 18.
According to Mr Poptoshev’s account, which is contained in legal filings seen by The Irish Times, early on January 9th, 2024, six or seven gardaí, including visibly armed officers, came to his door and searched his apartment while his wife and two young children were present.
Gardaí seized a large number of items, including two phones and a laptop, and asked him if he knew Lynn and how the two met. A garda told Mr Poptoshev he was legally obliged to hand over the passwords to his seized devices.
Mr Poptoshev said he asked to speak to his solicitor first. After he was unable to get in touch with his solicitor, gardaí arrested him under section 48 of the Theft and Fraud Offences Act, 2001.
The Act requires anyone with access to a “computer” relevant to an investigation to hand over the relevant passwords. Failure to do so in punishable by a fine and six months in prison.
After receiving legal advice in Dundrum Garda station, Mr Poptoshev refused to disclose his passwords, telling gardaí he had been informed the law did not apply to smartphones. He was then charged with an offence and remanded on bail to the District Court.
In a judicial review lodged with the High Court last week, Mr Poptoshev, through his solicitors, Mulholland Law, is attempting to halt the prosecution on several constitutional grounds, including the right against self-incrimination.
He claims the 2001 Act regarding passwords does not apply to smartphones, which had not been invented at the time, and that higher privacy guards must apply to personal phones.
Mr Poptoshev also said only a judge should have the power to compel a person to hand over a password. He further claimed some of the material on his devices related to Lynn’s case and was therefore legally privileged.
He is seeking damages for his arrest and detention.
Asked for comment, Mr Poptoshev’s solicitor Ciaran Mulholland said: “We feel this case of is of exceptional importance given the extent and ramifications of such draconian provisions, which we believe are out of kilter with the rest of Europe and incompatible with the Constitution.”
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