A FINANCIAL adviser denied that £2.3 million found at his house in Co Cork was connected in any way to the IRA during an interview with gardaí following his arrest on suspicion of being a member of the IRA, a court heard yesterday.
During an interview at the Bridewell Garda station on February 17th, 2005, Ted Cunningham told Det Sgt Gerry McCarthy and Det Garda John Lynch he had no connections with the IRA nor did he know anyone in the IRA.
Mr Cunningham (60) also denied that £2.3 million found in the basement of his house at Farran was in any way connected with Tom Hanlon whom the jury heard had been a Sinn Féin councillor on Passage Town Council in Co Cork.
“The only dealings I ever had with him is that he approached me on a number of occasions to see if I could arrange a mortgage for him,” said Mr Cunningham, adding that Mr Hanlon had done some work for him on a house that he had built.
During another interview with Det Garda Dave O’Regan and Det Garda Jim Fitzgerald, Mr Cunningham said Mr Hanlon had his bank details because he gave him money to lodge to his account after Mr Hanlon did work on his house.
Mr Cunningham denies 20 charges of money laundering including one of possessing £3,010,380 at Farran between December 20th, 2004 and February 16th, 2005, knowing or believing it to be the proceeds of a robbery at the Northern Bank Cash Centre in Belfast.
Yesterday was the 17th day of Mr Cunningham’s trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court before Judge Con Murphy and a jury of five men and seven women, who spent much of the day watching a video recording of Mr Cunningham’s interviews with gardaí.
When asked by Det Sgt McCarthy if he was a friend of Gerry Adams, Mr Cunningham replied “No, I wouldn’t say I’m a friend, I met the man on maybe two or three occasions, the same number of occasions as I would have met Bertie Ahern.” Mr Cunningham told the interviewing gardaí that he had met Martin McGuinness once or twice and Pat Doherty MP on two or three occasions, once at a Sinn Féin function in Dublin.
Mr Cunningham said he was “a Fianna Fáil republican” and while he would like to see a 32-county Ireland, he had always held the view that violence was “not the best way forward”.
He added: “I had no involvement nor have ever contributed nor ever took part in anything linked to the IRA.” However, he said he had once sent a Christmas card to veteran IRA leader Joe Cahill and his wife.
Mr Cunningham again repeated his explanation for having £2.3 million in his home by saying that he received the money in October 2004 from some Bulgarians seeking to buy a sand and gravel pit in Co Offaly even though they did not come to see the pit until November 2004.
Mr Cunningham said that the Bulgarians had seen photos of the pit and had received an environmental impact study, a geologist’s report and a copy of the portfolio and “had in their possession a complete knowledge of the value of the pit,” when they paid £2 million.
The case continues.