Lynn faces prison over no-show on €80m scam
Court issues warrant for arrest of fugitive solicitor
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Disgraced solicitor Michael Lynn is facing jail after failing to turn up in court to face a grilling about an €80m mortgage scam.
And the Mayo-born fugitive is set to trigger an international manhunt if he fails to attend the High Court today after the President of that court issued a warrant for his arrest.
Mr Lynn's whereabouts are unknown and he was last sighted in London on Tuesday. He has failed to respond to queries from the Irish Independent, and both his Portuguese and Irish mobile phones have now been disconnected.
Yesterday, in a dramatic development in the solicitors saga, Mr Justice Richard Johnson ordered gardai to place the former high-flying solicitor in immediate custody, if caught, after Mr Lynn failed to attend court to answer questions about his financial affairs.
Mr Lynn, who is being investigated by the Garda Fraud Squad, fled the country for a second time last weekend, leaving debts of €80m, unpaid staff, hapless banks owed millions and distressed homeowners in his wake.
Yesterday, the High Court heard that Mr Lynn was in London last Monday night consulting with Merriman White, a British legal firm -- itself embroiled in a high-profile fraud after its senior solicitor, Ray St John Murphy, was ordered to pay a £25,000 fine for using clients funds for his own benefit.
Mr Lynn's wife Brid Murphy attended the consultation but later returned home to Dublin for a meeting with solicitors here in relation to separate proceedings involving her.
She last spoke to her husband by phone on Tuesday night; but yesterday, as an intensive search got under way to find Mr Lynn, she revealed through her lawyers that he was refusing to answer her calls. She hoped to be contacted by him soon, the court heard.
Mr Lynn's absence has sent shockwaves through the legal community, his former business associates and staff, who fear their hopes of being paid have vanished with the property mogul. Many had praised him for returning to Ireland when the scandal broke.
When Mr Lynn failed to appear yesterday morning, Judge Johnson ordered he be arrested and brought before the court after lunch but there was still no appearance at 2pm.
The judge then ordered gardai to arrest him and bring him before the court today.
Mr Lynn was to have been cross-examined by Shane Murphy, for the society, before the High Court President about his dealings concerning six properties. His evidence is not admissible in any criminal proceedings as he is required by court order to attend.
Documents relating to Mr Lynn's dealings have been sent to the Garda National Bureau of Fraud Investigation.
Representatives of the major banks, who are owed multi-million sums, were in court yesterday.
Earlier yesterday, Paul Burns and Gabriel Gavigan, instructed by PJ Walsh & Company solicitors, Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, who had until recently represented Mr Lynn in the proceedings brought against him by the society, applied to be formally discharged as Mr Lynn's legal representatives.
Mr Burns had told the court last Monday that Mr Lynn was now to be represented by an English law firm.
After Mr Lynn was called and there was no appearance by either him or any legal representative, Mr Burns said he was formally applying to come off record. Instructions to Sean Sexton, who had been Mr Lynn's instructing solicitor, had "effectively been withdrawn" and his side were unaware of any firm having come on record for Mr Lynn. The judge told Mr Burns he and his legal team could come off record.
- Dearbhail McDonald, Tim Healy and Laura Noonan
