Isle of Man money for legal bills claim is `nonsense'

The suggestion that the £300,000 allegedly brought home by Mr George Redmond from the Isle of Man was for legal bills has been dismissed as "nonsense" by legal sources. "No one representing a person who has been accused of taking bribes would accept payment without knowing where the money came from - and certainly not in cash," said one source. "It would have to be `clean', and it would have to come from a current account open to the tribunal."

The amount allegedly seized from Mr Redmond exceeds the £100,000 bill he says he faces for legal representation at the Flood tribunal. "If he wanted to pay the bill, he could have just written a cheque," said another lawyer.

The fallout from Mr Redmond's sensational arrest is expected to have major repercussions on the tribunal. If charged, he would be entitled to claim privilege against self-incrimination at the tribunal. There could also be restrictions on allegations concerning Mr Redmond in the evidence of Mr James Gogarty, whose cross-examination is due to resume tomorrow.

The Criminal Assets Bureau, which carried out the surveillance on Mr Redmond and arrested him in Dublin Airport on Friday night, is now carrying out its own inquiry into the source of the money. This is separate from the investigations by the tribunal.

Mr Redmond's arrest may give tribunal investigators a new "bargaining chip" in their efforts to obtain greater co-operation from the 74-year-old former assistant Dublin city and county manager. In recent weeks, Mr Redmond has been seeking a guarantee that his legal costs will be paid by the State and that he will not face prosecution for obstructing the work of the tribunal.

Mr Redmond spent more than 19 hours in Harcourt Terrace station in Dublin before he was released shortly before 3 p.m. on Saturday. According to unconfirmed reports, the CAB was acting on a "tip-off" it received in the past week.

He was questioned about alleged tax evasion and failing to make tax returns on offshore accounts under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The maximum penalty for a conviction under this legislation is five years' imprisonment. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

CAB detectives also seized financial and local government documentation when they searched Mr Redmond's home in Castleknock, west Dublin, on Friday night. He was not available for comment last night.

Mr Redmond was visited in Harcourt Terrace by his solicitor, and is seeking barristers with criminal experience to represent him.

In January Mr Redmond tried unsuccessfully in the Supreme Court to limit the tribunal's investigations and to have the allegations against him heard in private. In his evidence, Mr Gogarty has alleged Mr Redmond received two payments from a building firm, Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering.