Former boss of collapsed Pembroke Dynamic to contest court action

The former boss of the collapsed charities fundraising service Pembroke Dynamic intends to contest High Court proceedings taken against him by the firm's liquidator.

Peter Conlon, who founded the collapsed Pembroke Dynamic fundraising platform business, appeared before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds at the High Court on Wednesday and said that he wants an injunction freezing his assets lifted.

The firm’s liquidator Myles Kirby has brought proceedings against Mr Conlon as part of his investigation into what happened to some €3.8 million in donations to dozens of charities allegedly misappropriated by the Dublin firm

Last year Mr Kirby’s lawyers secured an injunction freezing Mr Conlon’s assets, including his bank accounts, below a value of €3.8 million.

In his action against the businessman, where the ODCE is a notice party, Mr Kirby also seeks orders against Mr Conlon, including an order that he be made personally liable for the company’s debts.

The case was adjourned, with the freezing orders remaining in place, on several occasions.

Mr Kirby was unable to progress matters due to issues over the service of documents on Mr Conlon, who spent 12 months in a Swiss prison following his conviction for embezzlement.

On Wednesday, when the liquidator's case was back before the court, Rossa Fanning SC appearing with Gerard Meehan BL, for Mr Kirby, said Mr Conlon who was appearing before the court for the first time, intended to contest the proceedings.

Counsel said that now Mr Conlon, who represented himself, was no longer incarcerated and able to attend court that directions could be made with a view to fixing a date for the hearing of the action.

As well as contesting the claims against him Mr Conlon asked the court to lift the freezing orders against him.

Unhappiness

During the brief hearing, Mr Conlon also expressed his unhappiness about being unable to access emails of his company Ammado, of which Pembroke Dynamic, he said, was a subsidiary.

He said that Google and Amazon had taken down these emails, to which he said he required access.

Mr Conlon was also critical of the manner how documents were served on him by the liquidator and claimed he had not been provided with all the material relevant to the case.

In reply, counsel rejected Mr Conlon’s criticism of how the liquidator had served documents on the defendant.

Mr Conlon had been provided with all but one of 89 relevant documents, and the one that was omitted in error was an affidavit of service, counsel said.

Mr Fanning added that any attempt to lift the injunction would be contested by the liquidator, given the serious nature of the allegations against the Mr Conlon.

Ms Justice Reynolds, who suggested that Mr Conlon discuss issues concerning the exchange of documents with Mr Kirby, agreed to adjourn the case to a date in late July to allow the sides to exchange a statement of claim and a defence.

The Judge also told Mr Conlon that if he wished to have the injunctions freezing his assets lifted he would have to make a formal application to the court.

Mr Conlon (64), whose family home is in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, was jailed in Switzerland last November after he pleaded guilty to embezzlement there to using almost €4 million – intended for charities – to fund his technology company.

He was jailed for four years, with three suspended and, as he had already spent a year in prison before the trial, he was released on December 22nd last.

Lock-up

He has claimed that he only confessed to the Swiss authorities after he says he was held in 23-hour lock-up for nearly a year. He says he was put under severe mental pressure to confess.

The court previously heard that Mr Conlon claims his health has suffered due to his incarceration.

He says as a result of the denial of his human rights and “prosecutorial misconduct” by the Swiss, a report is being prepared for submission to the Irish Government and the European Commissioner for Human Rights.