The Supreme Court will later this month hear an appeal by Jackson Way Properties aimed at preventing the Criminal Assets Bureau suing it for €53 million over alleged “corrupt enrichment” as a result of the sale of lands at Carrickmines.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, was told today the appeal by JWP against a High Court decision that Cab is entitled to bring the proceedings in this jurisdiction is ready to proceed on February 18th.
Jackson Way Properties (JWP) with registered offices in Birmingham, England, contends the Irish courts have no jurisdiction to hear and determine the CAB proceedings.
In separate High Court proceedings, JWP is seeking orders to enforce a €12.8 million award made to it by an arbitrator in November 2003 against Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council over the acquisition of the lands at Carrickmines for the M50 motorway.
The council contends the award cannot be enforced because, it claims, JWP is unable to produce title to the lands and cannot prove the extent of title.
The 17 acres of lands involved are at the centre of a rezoning controversy and are subject of a freezing order granted to the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) in 2005 pending the outcome of its own proceedings against JWP.
Cab claims a €53 million increase in the value of the lands was a direct result of "corrupt conduct in procuring the rezoning decision" and amounted to "corrupt enrichment" of JWP within the meaning of that phrase in Section 16B of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996.
When seeking the freezing order over the JWP lands in July 2005, Cab chief officer Felix McKenna said the 17 acres were rezoned from agricultural to industrial by 13 votes to 11 at a special council meeting of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on December 16th, 1997.
Chief Supt McKenna said Cab believed the rezoning decision was procured by corrupt payments to county councillors made by Frank Dunlop in furtherance of an agreement with James Kennedy whereby Mr Dunlop was to receive the commercial value of one rezoned acre of the Carrickmines lands if he successfully arranged the rezoning.
Chief Supt McKenna said the beneficial owners of JWP are Mr Kennedy, a businessman who has been involved in the running of an amusement arcade at Westmoreland Street and a solicitor, John Caldwell.
According to Cab, the Carrickmines lands were amassed by James Kennedy and John Caldwell in the period up to 1989. A company called Paisley Park Investments Ltd was registered as full owners of the property in December 1992 and the land was transferred to JWP in 1993. Cab claims Paisley Park Investments Ltd was owned substantially by John Caldwell and James Kennedy.
