A friend and business associate of the jailed former solicitor and property developer Michael Lynn has appeared before the District Court in Dún Laoghaire charged with allegedly refusing to comply with a search warrant.
Yavor Poptoshev (48), a Bulgarian national and company director, who has described himself as a personal friend and business partner of Lynn, is facing three charges of failing to hand over the passwords for items seized during a search carried out at his home by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.
The charges, of obstructing a garda by refusing to disclose the passwords for three electronic items, a Google Pixel 4 mobile phone, a Google Pixel 6 mobile phone and an Asus laptop, at an apartment at St Raphaela’s Road, Stillorgan, Dublin, fall under Section 49 (1) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
When the matter came before Judge Anne Watkin on Tuesday, Sgt Deirdre Ryan said the matter could be heard on a summary basis. Judge Ryan remanded the case to April 22nd next, for plea or date for a hearing.
Simon Crowley BL, instructed by solicitor Ciaran Mulholland, asked for discovery of evidence held by the gardaí, including audio and visual evidence, lists of potential witnesses and notebook evidence. The judge agreed.
Mr Poptoshev, a father of two who has lived in Ireland for 18 months, is the director of a number of Irish companies and has said he assisted Lynn during his 2023 retrial, which ended in the 55-year-old being convicted on 10 counts of theft from various financial institutions, totalling €17.9 million, in 2006 and 2007. The jury in an earlier trial had failed to reach a verdict.
Mr Poptoshev 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, he has said in an affidavit in a civil case before the High Court.
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.
He said he has known Lynn for 14 or 15 years and worked with him on projects in several countries, including Portugal, Hungary and Slovakia.
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