The High Court will give judgment next week on an attempt by Jackson Way Properties Ltd to halt an action by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) aimed at securing some €53 million from the company over its alleged "corrupt enrichment" from the sale of lands at Carrickmines in south Co Dublin.
The case was mentioned before Mr Justice Kevin Feeney yesterday for the purposes of giving a date for judgment and the judge said he would deliver his decision on Thursday next.
The judge has been asked to decide a pre-trial procedural application by Jackson Way in which the company, which has registered offices in Birmingham, alleges that the Cab is not entitled to bring the proceedings in this jurisdiction. It claims the action is a "civil and commercial" matter which falls within the remit of the Brussels regulation on jurisdiction, meaning that the action has to be brought in the country of domicile of the company, England.
Cab denied those claims and has argued the Brussels regulation does not apply to the case.
The 17 acres of lands at Carrickmines remain frozen under a High Court order secured by Cab in 2005 after it initiated its proceedings against Jackson Way.
Cab claims a €53 million rise in the value of the lands was a direct result of "corrupt conduct in procuring the rezoning decision" and amounted to "corrupt enrichment" of Jackson Way within the meaning of that phrase in Section 16b of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996.
When seeking the freezing order over the lands in July 2005, Cab chief officer Chief Supt Felix McKenna said the 17 acres were rezoned from agricultural to industrial by 13 votes to 11 at a special council meeting of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on December 16th, 1997.
Cab believed the rezoning decision was procured by corrupt payments to county councillors, he said.
Chief Supt McKenna said the corrupt payments were made by Frank Dunlop in furtherance of an agreement with businessman/developer James Kennedy, whereby Mr Dunlop was to receive the commercial value of one rezoned acre of the Carrickmines lands if he successfully arranged the rezoning.
He said the beneficial owners of Jackson Way were Mr Kennedy and a solicitor, John Caldwell.
According to Cab, the Carrickmines lands were amassed by Mr Kennedy and Mr Caldwell in the period up to 1989.
A company called Paisley Park Investments Ltd was registered as full owner of the property in December 1992 and the land was transferred to Jackson Way Properties in 1993.
Cab claims Paisley Park Investments Ltd was owned substantially by Mr Caldwell and Mr Kennedy.