Officers of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) investigating planning corruption on a major scale in west Dublin have seized hundreds of documents in raids on seven accountants' and solicitors' offices in Dublin in the past two days.
The investigations are into the relationship between the former Dublin assistant city and county manager, Mr George Redmond; a Dublin car parts dealer and property speculator, Mr Charlie Duffy, and an amusement arcade owner and speculator, Mr James Kennedy. The CAB raids began on Thursday morning at five offices and a further two were searched yesterday.
At the offices of Binchys solicitors on Baggot Street, CAB officers yesterday arrested a 71- year-old legal assistant, Thomas McGrath, after he was discovered attempting to hide a file of material interest to their investigation. McGrath was brought before Dublin District Court where he was sentenced to three days' imprisonment for obstruction of justice. He has been released on €200 bail pending an appeal.
Binchys said last night McGrath had made a "rash decision under extreme pressure". His decision was not authorised by anyone in the company, the firm said in a statement issued by a public relations company.
In December, Mr Duffy paid the largest tax settlement yet to the bureau after investigations into his activities. It is believed he has so far paid some €13.5 million and may still owe more money. The initial demand was for about €25 million.
Mr Duffy (60) lives in a large house in Howth. He had extensive land holdings in west Dublin as well as a substantial property in Smithfield from which he formerly ran his car parts business.
He bought the former distillery site in Smithfield from the State in 1991, for €635,000. In 1998, he sold his other Smithfield property to developers for more than €10 million. Mr Duffy has a number of criminal convictions.
The CAB has been investigating land speculation and planning decisions in Lucan and around west Dublin since the arrest of Mr Redmond at Dublin Airport in February 1999 when he was found carrying about €430,000 in cash and cheques.
All the lands concerned in the investigation were either rezoned or received permissions for road and sewage development during Mr Redmond's tenure of office as assistant city and county manager.
Mr Kennedy, a resident of the Isle of Man, is the proprietor of an amusement arcade on Westmoreland Street in Dublin.
Mr Redmond (76), from Castleknock, is awaiting trial on corruption charges. In the 1980s, he loaned Mr Kennedy €140,000 to invest in the purchase of land in Lucan.
The land was later rezoned and sold at a substantial profit. For several years, Mr Redmond called into Mr Kennedy's amusement arcade to collect bundles of cash, which he said represented the interest payments on this loan.
Both Mr Redmond and Mr Kennedy have been the subject of investigation by the Flood tribunal.
Both have been associated with the three-times jailed TD, Mr Liam Lawlor, and the former Fianna Fáil press officer and lobbyist, Mr Frank Dunlop, in tribunal allegations concerning corrupt land dealings in Co Dublin.
The raids are the culmination of months of investigation into the relationship between Mr Redmond,
Mr Kennedy and Mr Duffy, and involved 30 of CAB's 59 investigators.
The search at Binchys was the longest carried out by CAB. It began on Thursday morning and continued until yesterday afternoon.
Officers removed dozens of files which are now being examined at the CAB offices in Harcourt Square.
Binchys has figured prominently in the tribunal's proceedings. Among its clients were Brennan and McGowan, the builders who bankrolled Mr Ray Burke's political career, and Mr Kennedy.
One former partner, Mr John Caldwell, "went to ground" when ordered to give evidence to the tribunal last year.
Mr Caldwell has since agreed to give evidence. Among the matters under investigation by the tribunal is his involvement in a Brennan and McGowan company which was used to pay large sums to Mr Burke offshore.
Mr Caldwell and Mr Kennedy, who were involved in land deals with Mr Lawlor, have also been linked to Jackson Way Properties. This company is under investigation by the tribunal in relation to allegations of corrupt payments in relation to the rezoning of its lands in Carrickmines in south Dublin.