Mr Peter Bolger, a Dublin businessman charged by the Criminal Assets Bureau on 12 counts of failing to deliver tax statements to the Revenue Commissioners since 1991, has been granted bail in the High Court.
Mr Bolger, of Glendown Lawns, Templeogue, was released until next week on the evidence of Mr Rory O'Riordan, of Partners at Law, who said his company held a £50,000 cash surety in a client account on foot of a previous High Court order.
Mr O'Riordan said he had been authorised by the independent surety, Mr Padraig Dolan, to give the court an undertaking that the money could be forfeited if Mr Bolger failed to turn up in court next week.
Ms Pauline Walley, for the Criminal Assets Bureau, told Mr Justice O'Neill that Mr Bolger had been granted bail pending extradition proceedings to England where he had, in 1995, been convicted in his absence of forgery and fraudulent trading after having failed to turn up for trial there.
She said that when Mr Bolger, who conducted most of his business overseas, had sought the release of his passport to deal with overseas business the High Court had directed that a £50,000 surety be lodged with his solicitors and it be subject to forfeit if he absconded.
She said these reliefs had been granted to Mr Bolger in relation to bail on the extradition proceedings, which were still before the District Court. Mr Bolger was now facing a demand by the Criminal Assets Bureau for £1.2 million in unpaid taxes, and each of the 12 tax offences carried, on indictment, a fine of £50,000 or five years' imprisonment.
Dr Michael Forde SC, for Mr Bolger, said the Garda had his client's passport i at Templeogue, Dublin, and the £50,000 lodgment was available as surety in the CAB proceedings.