A prominent Belfast businessman accused of fraud in relation to a £1 billion (€1.2 billion) loan deal has been unsuccessful in his bid to have reporting restrictions imposed on the trial.
Frank Cushnahan has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He had sought to have reporting restrictions put in place during the trial.
His co-accused, Ian Coulter, has also pleaded not guilty to all charges. Mr Coulter did not seek to have reporting restrictions applied.
The charges against the men relate to the sale of a loan book held by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), which was set up by the Irish government to deal with toxic property loans after the banking crisis in 2008.
Mr Cushnahan had sought an order from the court pursuant to section 4 (2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, which states that reporting on certain proceedings may be postponed if there is “a substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice in those proceedings”.
In dismissing the application, Mr Justice Ian Huddleston of the Crown Court of Northern Ireland said there was “no substantial risk to the applicant on the facts”.
He said there is “substantial public interest” in the trial.
“The public interest in fair and accurate reporting of criminal trials generally, and the promotion of public confidence in the administration of justice and the rule of law, is something which very much tends to the dismissal of the application,” the judge said.
Nama’s Northern Ireland loan book was sold to a US investment fund in 2014.
Mr Cushnahan, a former member of Nama’s Northern Ireland advisory committee, is charged with fraud for allegedly failing to disclose information to Nama between April 1st and November 7th, 2013.
Mr Coulter, a solicitor, is alleged to have made a false representation to a law firm on or around September 11th, 2014. He is also charged with making an article in connection with a fraud, namely a £9 million invoice, and two counts of concealing or transferring criminal property on various dates in 2014.
Both men are accused of making a false representation to Nama and a law firm in April 2014. They deny all charges.
In his written judgment, which was delivered on Wednesday, Mr Justice Huddleston said: “The application to this court was essentially by way of written submissions made by Mr Cushnahan’s counsel as expanded upon orally but acknowledged by him to be unsupported by any evidential basis or other supporting information.”
Mr Cushnahan was represented by Frank O’Donoghue KC and Bobbie-Leigh Herdman BL, instructed by Paul Dougan from John J Rice Solicitors.
Four media organisations intervened in the case – The Irish Times, RTÉ, BBC and Mediahuis. They were represented by Richard Coghlin KC, instructed by Fergal McGoldrick of Carson McDowell LLP.
Jonathan Kinnear KC and Lauren Cheshire BL, instructed by the Public Prosecution Service, supported the media interveners’ submissions.
