One complaint made to gardai in Lynn case
Banks oddly reluctant to press criminal charges
Sunday January 20 2008
Only one of the banks owed up to €80m by runaway solicitor Michael Lynn has made a formal complaint to gardai about the "multiple mortgages" he took out on properties.
It has also emerged that it may take months for gardai to be in a position to seek his extradition back to Ireland, if he is found. Gardai would have to be in a position to charge him directly on his return to fulfil the normal rules of extradition.
Lynn, who is due before the High Court again tomorrow, is believed to have returned to Portugal, possibly to the Algarve area, following a brief trip to New York, where he was stopped by police on foot of an Interpol request from gardai to stop and detain him. The garda request is, so far, designed only to monitor his movements in preparation for extradition moves.
So far, the only bank to have made a formal complaint is Permanent TSB, which is seeking to recover around €10m which it advanced to the solicitor to buy property.
Lynn owes the remainder of the monies to First Active, AIB, IIB Bank, Bank of Scotland (Ireland), Irish Nationwide Building Society and ACC Bank. These banks are pursuing civil cases through the courts presently, rather than seeking a garda investigation.
Last week, Judge Peter Kelly gave the ACC Bank leave to use European Enforcement Orders under EU legislation to enforce judgment in countries like Portugal and Bulgaria, where Mr Lynn and his various companies have substantial property assets.
It is also believed that Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is in the process of trying to seize further property assets which the solicitor holds in Britain.
But, so far, there has been a marked reluctance by the financial institutions to press for a criminal investigation into Lynn's activities.
It is believed that the majority of those banks and lending institutions concerned are not enthusiastic about having the details of their lending policies exposed in open court. However, garda sources say it is expected that there will be complaints from banks down the line, if there is difficulty in recovering money from the sale of properties.
According to reports yesterday, police in Hungry have also launched an investigation into the solicitor.
Lynn remains at large because, even though the High Court has ordered his arrest, its writ does not apply outside the country as it is, at present, a civil matter. When the garda investigation ends and the file is sent to the DPP -- and if a direction to charge is sent back, this could change, and then Lynn's extradition could be sought anywhere.
Lynn left Ireland in December and there was no certain sign of his whereabouts until he arrived at Newark Airport in New Jersey on a flight from Lisbon last Friday week.
He was detained and questioned by security staff. He informed them he was intending only to stay in New York for three days and had a return ticket. He was released and it is assumed he returned to Portugal.
Glenlion House in Howth, for which Lynn paid a reported €5.5m, has been put on the market by the High Court-appointed receiver with a guide price of €4.5m and is due to be sold at auction on Tuesday.
Full Story, Page 11
- JIM CUSACK
