The High Court has continued an order granted to the Criminal Assets Bureau freezing lands at Carrickmines, Dublin, owned by Jackson Way Properties Ltd.
Cab claims a €53 million hike in the value of some of the lands stemmed from corrupt conduct leading to "corrupt enrichment" of Jackson Way Properties under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The case was briefly mentioned in court yesterday when Paul Gardiner SC, for Jackson Way said his side was considering whether to bring a challenge to the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear the matter.
Cian Ferriter, for the Cab, said notice of the freezing order was served last August on the offices of Jackson Way in Birmingham. The company had entered an appearance in the action last Friday which was conditional and without prejudice to its entitlement to challenge the court's jurisdiction.
If there was a jurisdictional challenge, he believed that matter should be addressed first.
Mr Gardiner said he was not certain there would be a jursdictional challenge and wanted an adjournment of the proceedings.
President of the High Court Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan said he would adjourn the matter for four weeks and would also continue the freezing order preventing Jackson Way Properties Ltd from disposing of or otherwise dealing with 107 acres of land at Carrickmines in south Dublin.
When the freezing order was sought by Cab last July, bureau chief Felix McKenna told the court the €53 million increase in the value of certain of the company's lands - up from €7 million in 1997 - followed a land rezoning decision procured by "corrupt conduct" and "corrupt payments to county councillors".
In an affidavit, Det Chief Supt McKenna said 17 acres of Jackson Way lands were rezoned from agricultural to industrial at a special council meeting of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on December 16th, 1997. That led to the lands increasing in value by €53 million by last December.
The increase "'directly results from the corrupt conduct in procuring the rezoning decision" and represented part of Jackson Way Properties' "corrupt enrichment" within the meaning of that phrase in section 16B of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996, he said.
Chief Supt McKenna said the beneficial owners of the company were businessman/developer James Kennedy, who has been involved in the running of an amusement arcade at Westmoreland Street, and a solicitor, John Caldwell.
Cab, the court was told, had investigated the rezoning of the 17.635 acres of land in Carrickmines, secured by a 13/11 vote of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on December 16th, 1997. Chief Supt McKenna said he believed the rezoning decision was procured by corrupt payments to county councillors.
"These corrupt payments were made by Mr Frank Dunlop in furtherance of an agreement with James Kennedy whereby Mr Dunlop would receive the commercial value of one rezoned acre of the Carrickmines lands if he successfully arranged the rezoning of the property," Chief Supt McKenna said.
According to Cab, the Carrickmines lands were amassed by James Kennedy and John Caldwell in the period up to 1989. A company called Paisley Park Investments Ltd was registered as full owners of the property in December 1992 and the land was transferred to Jackson Way Properties in 1993.
Based on investigations, Chief Supt McKenna said he believed that Paisley Park Investments Ltd was owned substantially by Mr Caldwell and Mr Kennedy. He said Jackson Way Properties was an English-registered company with its registered office in Birmingham. He said Mr Caldwell had said he and Mr Kennedy were the real owners.