Alleged former IRA chief of staff Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy today launched a legal battle to block his trial for alleged tax evasion.
Mr Murphy (58) accused State lawyers of abusing the rules of justice after they gave his solicitor just four minutes’ notice when they applied to bring the case before a non-jury court.
He faces nine charges of allegedly failing to file returns on his income, profits or gains over eight years from 1996.
In October, Mr Murphy and his two brothers agreed to allow the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) hand over to the State some €630,000 seized at the family lands in Co Louth during a joint customs and police cross-Border operation two years ago.
Mr Murphy’s lawyers told the High Court today his solicitor, Paul Tiernan, was not aware State lawyers were preparing to apply for the non-jury trial.
Michael O’Higgins SC, for Mr Murphy, said the application was made at a special 9am sitting of Dundalk District Court one Monday morning last January.
Even though Mr Tiernan argued on the phone for state solicitors to adjourn, the hearing went ahead and the case was sent for trial at the Special Criminal Court which usually deals with terrorists.
“It’s agreed that my solicitor protested in fairly strong terms that he regarded four minutes’ notice to a court application of this sort to be utterly inadequate,” said Mr O’Higgins.
Mr O’Higgins claimed that the order made in Dundalk was invalid as it was made in their absence.
He said the move was a breach of statute and Murphy’s constitutional rights, and accused the State of abusing the courts process.
“It acted in a manner which was unfair, unjust and unreasonable,” he added.
Paul Burns SC, for the State, argued that although the applicant had been given short notice of the court hearing, the order made on the day was still valid.
Mr Murphy was not in court for the judicial review application.
Mr Justice Iarlaith O’Neill reserved judgment until tomorrow morning.
Last month Mr Murphy, his brothers Frank and Patrick, and the Ace Oils fuel company agreed to give up cash, cheques and properties to Irish and British revenue authorities after they were investigated as part of a massive smuggling racket operating on both sides of the Irish border.
More than €625,000 in cash and cheques were confiscated in Ireland while nine properties in north west England worth £445,000 (€573,000) were recovered by British authorities.
Gardai said the settlement was the culmination of a global crime and fraud investigation into the proceeds of crime.
The three men had been under investigation since March 2006 when “Slab” Murphy’s farm in Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, straddling the border between Louth and Armagh, was raided.
It was one of 15 residential and business properties searched.
More than £140,000 in mixed currencies, 30,000 cigarettes and 8,000 litres of fuel were seized while 30 archive boxes of documents, three tankers and a truck with a fourth tanker concealed inside were impounded.
An oil laundering unit was also seized.
During court hearings in Dublin, officers from Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau claimed the Murphy brothers had been involved in fuel smuggling for 20 years.
PA