Dr Michael Smurfit has strenuously denied that he has any case to answer in relation to money that went astray after Smurfit paid £68 million for a Spanish packaging company 11 years ago.

A spokesman for Dr Smurfit said that he would strongly resist efforts by a Spanish prosecutor to make the Smurfit chairman face trial for alleged "necessary co-operation in the misappropriation by third parties." It is understood that a decision on whether Dr Smurfit will have to face trial will be made by a Spanish court within the next month with any trial proceedings not likely to get under way until the new year.

The Smurfit spokesman said that there was no basis for involving either Dr Smurfit or the Jefferson Smurfit Group in the proceedings relating to the group's acquisition of ICSA from Torres Hostench in November 1989. She said that Dr Smurfit and a number of group executives had already given evidence at a preliminary hearing into the alleged fraud.

It is understood that Dr Smurfit will claim that the Smurfit Group paid £67 million for ICSA and cannot be held accountable for any of this money that subsequently went missing. Allegations have been made that a number of individuals associated with Torres Hostench diverted a large portion of the Smurfit money for their own use, with some sources suggesting that as much as £40 million may be involved.

"Following the preliminary proceedings, the prosecutor has sought to have a number of individuals brought to trial including Javier Dela Rosa, who at the time of the acquisition was chairman of Torres Hostench. The prosecutor has also sought to have Dr Smurfit accused of necessary co-operation in the misappropriation by third parties," the spokesman stated.

She added that Smurfit had acquired the Spanish business in good faith in a tender process handled by investment bank Salomon Brothers and had been advised on the transaction by both Spanish and Irish lawyers.