An order restraining a former Bank of Ireland employee, against whom there are allegations of misappropriation of funds, from reducing or disposing of his assets below £500,000 was continued in the High Court yesterday. The bank claims Mr Sean Kavanagh, Kilrea Lane, Bagnalstown, Co Carlow, a senior bank official of the Bagnalstown branch, had been engaged in fraudulent transactions.
At a High Court hearing last week, Mr Michael McDowell SC, for the Bank of Ireland, said the final figure could run to £1 million. The bank was granted the temporary restraining order.
Yesterday, Mr Barry White SC, for Mr Kavanagh, said he had no objections to the reliefs continuing. They are injunctions restraining Mr Kavanagh from disposing or reducing his assets below £500,000. But he was concerned that other orders the bank sought concerning discovery of documents might infringe upon his client's constitutional and legal rights.
He said the Fraud Squad had entered Mr Kavanagh's premises last Friday following a bank complaint and had taken away documents.
Mr White said the allegation against the defendant was that he had misappropriated a large sum of money from his employers. He could put in a plea of privilege concerning documents.
Mr Michael McDowell SC, for the bank, said that if Mr White wanted to claim privilege then he should do it formally on affidavit. Mr Justice O'Sullivan made an order directing that there should be an affidavit generally in relation to discovery. He would also make the order on assets interlocutory.