Court says €500,000 of items linked to Kinahan gang can be sold

The Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) has been given permission to sell items worth some €500,000, including more than 30 cars, which it claims are owned by people linked to the Kinahan crime gang.

Among the parties affected is Liam Byrne, whose brother David was shot dead in an attack at Dublin’s Regency Hotel in February 2016.

Cab had previously secured High Court orders freezing the assets, which belong to 11 people and were seized following a series of raids in March 2016.

Ms Justice Carmel Stewart on Monday lifted a stay on the sale of the seized assets, save on an electric bicycle, as an affidavit had been filed in relation to that item by a respondent other than Mr Byrne.

At a previous sitting, the judge had said she would be lifting the stay save where affidavits seeking a delay had been filed.

Final instructions

The court heard a large number of the seized items are associated with Mr Byrne.

Barrister Tony McGillicuddy, for Mr Byrne and another respondent, asked the court to extend the stay for another week so that he could enter into communication with Cab, which, counsel said, would be of assistance to Cab in terms of helping the sale to proceed. He was awaiting final instructions in relation to this.

It was of particular concern that all of the notice parties might not have been informed. He said there was not going to be an application objecting to a sale but his client wanted to bring some information in relation to the vehicles to the attention of Cab, which could then consider if there may be one notice party it is not aware of in relation to one vehicle.

There was a concern that another party might seek to make Mr Byrne liable in relation to one vehicle, he said.

Mr McGillicuddy also said he may later want to bring a motion that the proceedings should be held in camera, a point also repeated by counsel for other respondents.

He said he wanted to notify Cab of certain concerns Mr Byrne had in relation to publicity attached to the proceedings.

Letter returned

Grainne O’Neill, for Cab, said all the respondents were represented the last time the matter was before the courts.

The notice parties had all been notified as directed by the court, although one of the letters sent out had been returned. She said the issue of matters being dealt with in camera would be dealt with when an application was brought before the court.

At a previous hearing, the court was told the vehicles were used by the Kinahan gang as currency for services and for laundering money and were linked to a car sales company which was a “bogus front”. The vehicles were “not of sentimental value” and were “used as assets only”.

Ms Justice Stewart adjourned the case to April 24th.