A Dublin businessman has been invited to attend court in Switzerland to give evidence under immunity in a case involving an Irish trust and $6 million (€6.43 million) which disappeared in Columbia.
The court has heard the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, may have been an informant for the US Drugs Enforcement Agency. He could not be contacted by The Irish Times. If he went to Switzerland without immunity it is likely he would be charged with some of the offences being considered by the court.
Mr Paul Murphy (40), of Deep Dales, Southern Cross, Bray, Co Wicklow, and Mr Andrew Winters, Carshalton, Surrey, face several charges in Lugano, Switzerland, including money laundering and drugs offences. They have pleaded not guilty. Mr Murphy lived in Bray but travelled to Switzerland each week.
He was arrested in Switzerland in November 1998 and has been held there since.
The court has heard that Mr Murphy was a trustee of an Irish trust, the Hibo trust, which was created for two German nationals in 1997-98 and into which $6 million was lodged.
The court has also heard that a further and seemingly unconnected $7 million was brought into Switzerland in cash from the US, Italy and the UK, before being lodged to accounts in Swiss banks and transferred to accounts in the US. This happened under Mr Murphy's direction and also in 1997-98.
The origin of all the cash is unclear but at least some of it has links with Columbia. Mr Murphy's case is that he did not check the money's origin but had no reason to believe it was not legitimate money given that it was being put into the banking system and transferred to named accounts in the US.
The transfers sometimes occurred following invoices. The prosecution alleges the money was linked to the drugs trade.
There were 60 transactions involved and the precise destination is not always clear. The court is also looking at allegedly private transfers Mr Murphy made to individuals in Dublin.
As for the funds deposited in Switzerland in the name of the Irish trust, these were moved to an account in the name of the trust with Banco Andino, of Columbia. The money was to have moved to an account of Banco Andino in the US but instead went to Columbia. From there it is not clear where the money went. Mr Murphy has said he does not know where the money went and has tried, unsuccessfully to find out.
It has since emerged that the money given to Mr Murphy by the two German businessmen was embezzled by one of them from a German company. Mr Murphy has said he did not know this.
The prosecutor has had some of the cash handled by Mr Murphy and examined and found traces of cocaine. However, his defence counsel has argued that this proves nothing and that a large percentage of used bank notes contain such traces.
Mr Murphy is a native of Northern Ireland and has been living in the Republic. He has no professional qualifications. He is before a court where the seven-member jury is made up of two professional jurors and five ordinary jurors. The case, which began on Monday, is expected to last another week. A simple majority verdict can decide the case.
If convicted of financing drug dealings then Mr Murphy could face up to 20 years in prison. If found guilty of money laundering he could face up to five years. He is contesting the charges. A request for a comment from his wife this week met with no response.
