A Co Clare company director, who spent the past year in an English jail awaiting trial for alleged fraud and money-laundering, has been released on "conditional bail" pending the start of his trial next October.
Mr Dylan Creavan (30), founder and director of Silicon Technologies in Ennis, was arrested in November last year and is accused of using his company to perpetrate a £162 million (€230 million) VAT fraud, reported at the time to have been one of the largest ever in Ireland or the UK.
The customs and excise service in the UK has confirmed that he has been released "on conditional bail" and that his trial is likely to take place in autumn 2004.
A spokesman confirmed this week that Mr Creavan had been released from Wandsworth Prison where he had spent the past 11½ months. Bail was set at £500,000, and Mr Creavan has had to give up his passport and has been told that he cannot apply for any travel documents.
"He has also to report to a nominated police station every day with imposed assurances and he resides at an address that is known to customs and excise," the statement confirmed.
Mr Creavan owns homes at De Vere Gardens in Kensington, London, and at Woodstock in Ennis.
He was arrested on November 19th last year following a joint investigation codenamed Operation Chipstick. The operation was a joint venture between British customs and excise, officers from Customs and Excise enforcement in Ireland and the Criminal Assets Bureau of an Garda Síochána.
A number of searches were also carried out in Ireland as part of the investigation. One other person was questioned in Limerick at the time in relation to the same inquiry.
Mr Creavan, originally from Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare, first appeared in court on November 21st, 2002, when he was formally charged with cheating the UK exchequer of £162 million and of money-laundering.
He was charged at the time with conspiracy to cheat the revenue in relation to VAT under Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act, 1977, and money-laundering offences under Section 93 C (1) (B) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1988.
He was remanded in custody by a London magistrates' court at the time.
The Criminal Assets Bureau here also obtained freezing orders for assets valued at more than €22 million.
Mr Creavan is alleged to have used his company, Silicon Technology Europe, in a so-called carousel fraud, also known as "VAT missing-trader fraud", to export and re-export microprocessors while claiming back the VAT each time.
"VAT missing-trader fraud" is where fraudsters obtain VAT registration to acquire goods VAT-free from other member-states. Goods are then sold on at VAT-inclusive prices, and the culprits disappear without paying the VAT to the tax authorities.
A spokesman for Silicon Technologies said yesterday of the company's future: "We are not moving forward at present because of pending litigation."
Although he has been released on bail, it is not expected that Mr Creavan, who spent last Christmas in prison, will be allowed home to Clare for the Christmas holiday this year.