CAB secures order freezing Jackson Way lands

The Criminal Assets Bureau has this evening secured a High Court order freezing lands at Carrickmines, Dublin, owned by Jackson Way Properties Ltd after claiming a €53 million rise in the value of some of the property stemmed from corrupt conduct.

That conduct had led to "corrupt enrichment" of JWP under the Proceeds of Crime Act, CAB told the court.

CAB chief Felix McKenna told the court the €53 million increase in the value of

some of the lands - up from some €7 million in 1997 - followed a land rezoning decision procured by "corrupt conduct" and "corrupt payments to county councillors".

The freezing order granted by the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, prevents Jackson Way Properties Ltd (JWP) from disposing of or otherwise dealing with 107 acres of land at Carrickmines in South Dublin.

In an affidavit, Det Chief Supt McKenna said 17 acres of Jackson Way lands were rezoned from agricultural to industrial at a special council meeting of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on December 16th, 1997. That led to the lands increasing in value by €53 million by last December.

The increase "'directly results from the corrupt conduct in procuring the rezoning decision" and represented part of JWP's "corrupt enrichment" within the meaning of that phrase in Section 16B of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996, he said.

The beneficial owners of JWP, Chief Supt McKenna said, are businessman/developer James Kennedy who has been involved in the running of an amusement arcade at Westmoreland Street, and a solicitor, John Caldwell.

The lands in December 2005 were worth €61m illion, an increase of €53.7 million in the value of the lands over their agricultural use value in 1997, he said.

Chief Supt McKenna said he believed the rezoning decision was procured by corrupt payment to county councillors by Mr Frank Dunlop, in furtherance of an agreement with James Kennedy whereby Mr Dunlop would receive the commercial value of one rezoned acre of the Carrickmines lands if he successfully arranged the rezoning of the property.

He said Mr Dunlop made a series of cash payments which, Chief Supt McKenna believed, were bribes, to a number of county councillors in order to secure the passing of the rezoning vote.

He based this belief on information he had gathered in investigations.

Efforts had been made by the beneficial owners of JWP to obscure the real ownership of the company, he said. One of those persons he believed to be a major beneficial owner was James Kennedy who lives in Gibralatar and John Caldwell who resides in the Isle of Man.

The 17.635 acres of rezoned land became worth some €500,000 per acre immediately after the rezoning decision. In December 2005, the value of the same 17.635 acres of rezoned land was estimated at €3.5Million an acre, totalling €61 million. The total value of the rezoned lands if they had remained zoned agricultural would be in the region of €7.9 million.

Referring to a part of the lands, the motorway lands, which were the subject of a compulsory purchase order in October 1998 by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council, Chief Supt McKenna said JWP and the Council failed to reach agreement as to the compensation to be paid for that compulsory purchase.

The dispute went to arbitration and it was determined on November 12th, 2003 that that the compensation appropriate was in the region of €12.8 million, of which some €9.6 million was for the land taken in the compulsory purchase.

Chief Supt McKenna said it was CAB's case that some €4.2 million of that award represents the present value of this part of JWP's "corrupt enrichment".

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 company in 1993.

Based on investigations, Chief Supt McKenna said he believed that Paisley Park Investments Ltd was owned substantially by John Caldwell and James Kennedy. He said JWP is an English registered company with its registered office in Birmingham. John Caldwell had said he and James Kennedy were in fact the real owners of JWP, he added.

Chief Supt McKenna said he was satisfied JWP was in possession or control of the Carrickmines lands as the registered owner and has therefore been corruptly enriched .