AN EXECUTIVE at one of the best known motor dealerships in south Dublin resigned his position after the firm discovered the loss of some €62,000 in proceeds from the sale of about 20 second-hand cars, The Irish Timeshas learned.
Grange Motors in Deansgrange - which sells new Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes cars, and second-hand cars traded in for new vehicles - said the Garda was not involved in the case.
The firm, a division of Motor Services Ltd, is ultimately owned by O'Flaherty Holdings, one of the largest privately-held Irish business groups. Owned by brothers Michael and Nigel O'Flaherty, the holding company made pretax profits of €64.34 million on revenues of €1.14 billion in 2006.
Grange Motors' sister com-panies include Ballsbridge Motors and Park Motors in Dublin and Turners Cross Motors in Cork.
In addition, O'Flaherty Holdings has aerial lift and digital imaging interests.
"The company has completed a review of its operations at the Grange Motors dealership in Dublin," said a spokesman for Motor Services. "The purpose of that review was to inquire into procedures followed in relation to the sale of a number of second-hand cars, the proceeds of which were not fully secured to the benefit of the company, resulting in a loss of €62,000 in total."
Asked if the company was satisfied that that was the extent of the irregularities, he said "yes they are".
The investigation continued for several months, but it is not known what prompted it.
While Motor Services said it did not dismiss anyone, it is understood that one individual left the firm in the wake of the inquiry.
The spokesman declined to reveal the number of vehicles involved in the case. It is believed, however, that irregularities were discovered in relation to the sale of as many as 20 cars. The cars in question were traded in at the Volkswagen division of Grange Motors, it is understood.
"These were your typical small, family-sized cars, of varying age and value, which had been taken in as trade-ins against new car sales. Steps are being taken to recover the loss involved, the magnitude of which would be considered small when compared to the overall scale of operations at Grange Motors. No member of staff was dismissed from the company."
Asked whether the Garda had been informed about the case, the spokesman said: "I can confirm that the Garda Síochána was not involved as part of the investigation." He declined to say why.
