Prosecution accuses Michael Lynn of lying to the jury

Prosecution attorneys have claimed that former solicitor, Michael Lynn has advised a jury at the circuit felony court docket, a “fabricated pack of lies”.

The trial of Mr Lynn, who denies stealing nearly €30 million from seven monetary establishments is listening to closing speeches at the moment from each side.

Mr Lynn claimed in the witness field that he had secret offers with bankers who allowed him to take out mortgages on properties in Ireland and use the cash to fund property improvement overseas.

Multiple mortgages on identical properties

He additionally claimed the banks have been conscious he had a number of mortgages on the identical properties and knew what he was doing with the cash. And he alleged some bankers bought cash or different advantages from him.

Prosecuting counsel, Patrick McGrath advised the jury that Mr Lynn’s defence abruptly emerged out of the blue, as a “shock”, simply two weeks in the past, in the direction of the finish of a trial which started in early February.

He advised them a key half of their consideration can be the credibility of Mr Lynn’s account.

Mr McGrath mentioned the jurors can be advised by the decide that in the event that they thought what Mr Lynn mentioned may moderately be true then he was entitled to be acquitted. But he mentioned the prosecution would strive to persuade them that they might not connect a shred of credibility to what he mentioned.

‘Secret offers’

He mentioned that Mr Lynn had by no means made anybody conscious of the “secret offers” he was now alleging. He had prevented being interviewed by gardai for years. Instead he fled to Brazil and fought extradition, tooth and nail. He had tried to divert blame however the solely particular person to blame, Mr McGrath mentioned, was the particular person sitting in the dock, who refused to take possession of the undeniable fact that he stole this cash in 2007.

Mr McGrath mentioned there had been repeated makes an attempt by Mr Lynn to keep away from being interviewed by gardaí whereas he lived in Portugal. He went off to Brazil with out telling anybody and languished in a Brazilian jail.

He mentioned it was preposterous to recommend that he couldn’t have determined at any stage to come again and face the expenses. And he had continued resisting extradition even after the order was made. Even when he got here again , he had not as soon as raised the concern of the secret offers with bankers and the chance that there have been emails which could show these offers existed.

Offence of theft

Mr McGrath mentioned the offence of theft lined a mess of dishonest actions and it was “fantastical” to recommend that the banks would have lent cash on properties with no obvious means of getting their a refund, with no safety in any respect, figuring out there have been a number of mortgages on them. It made completely no sense.

Mr Lynn was not a “easy man” at sea in the courts – he was an extended certified, skilled solicitor and clearly a really intelligent man, Mr McGrath mentioned. He mentioned he had been concerned in property improvement on a considerable scale and had made a substantial quantity of cash.

Mr McGrath mentioned the undertakings system was a key half of how Mr Lynn managed to defraud the banks. Banks lent cash based mostly on undertakings signed by solicitors that they’d register a cost on the properties. Mr McGrath mentioned this technique was maybe naïve and Mr Lynn noticed a niche he may exploit.

Mr McGrath mentioned it was irrelevant why this occurred or what occurred to the cash. But he mentioned there had been some proof in the case that maybe defined it.

Overseas property investments

He instructed that Mr Lynn’s property investments abroad expanded massively and grew out of management in 2006 and 2007. In Hungary for instance, there have been nice alternatives in a comparatively new market, however Mr Lynn had no supply for finance in Hungary as he couldn’t get cash from the banks there to get into these large developments and to make a fortune.

Mr McGrath instructed that he had siphoned cash off from the Irish banks, exploiting a weak spot in the endeavor system and getting a number of mortgages on properties, unbeknownst to anybody else.

Mr McGrath mentioned the cash might need been used to fund developments overseas, and possibly Mr Lynn had some notion that at a while he would pay it again.

‘Ponzi scheme’

He advised the jurors that they may see it as some kind of ponzi scheme – that if all his geese lined up, Mr Lynn thought the present may nonetheless preserve going. But Mr McGrath mentioned that didn’t excuse what Mr Lynn had achieved and was no defence.

He mentioned Mr Lynn had directed an worker to forge statements of affairs for the banks. He mentioned the statements have been essentially deceptive, at all times in a means that favoured Mr Lynn. This was, he mentioned, half and parcel of the internet of deceit he was spinning.

Mr McGrath mentioned Mr Lynn had tried to divert blame to individuals who didn’t stand to profit from these actions. He had intentionally misrepresented the worth of his belongings. The statements of affairs have been deceitful and he was actively concerned of their preparation and so they have been half of the tissue of deceit, confusion, lies and the try to pull the wool over the jurors eyes.

Mr McGrath mentioned there was no suggestion solicitor, Fiona McAleenan and worker, Liz Doyle who gave proof in the trial, benefitted in any means from the alleged secret offers.

‘Blacken character of different individuals’

He mentioned Mr Lynn didn’t have the braveness to have these allegations put to them once they have been in the witness field. Instead he had sought to blacken the character of different individuals to save his personal pores and skin.

Mr McGrath mentioned the jury could possibly be glad that Mr Lynn’s suggestion that he had one way or the other been deprived in the trial and was not ready to advance the defence he needed to, could possibly be solid apart.

Mr Lynn he mentioned was a previous grasp in creating confusion and imaginary difficulties. Everything the prosecution had been disclosed to the defence and Mr Lynn had been represented by some of the finest felony attorneys in the nation.

A suggestion {that a} third e mail server containing emails proving the existence of the “secret offers” was on the market someplace was a “large, fats lie”.

‘Pure and easy’
Mr McGrath mentioned this was a simple, easy case of greed and theft.

Mr Lynn obtained cash because of this of deliberate false misrepresentations to the banks, he mentioned.

He didn’t have consent and stole the cash “pure and easy”, he added.

He advised the jury Mr Lynn had tried to blame the world and his spouse for what had occurred.

However, he mentioned it was easy and the banks didn’t collude in secret offers, senior bankers weren’t taking bribes.

The witnesses who got here to court docket to rebut Mr Lynn’s proof have been telling the fact he mentioned.

Laywer for Mr Lynn addresses jury

In his deal with to the jury, defence counsel Paul Comiskey O’Keeffe advised them the selections they made would have an effect on Mr Lynn’s life and his youngsters’s lives.

The jurors wouldn’t give you the chance to come again and alter the votes that they had solid in 5 years time, he mentioned.

He mentioned hey would have to stay with it at all times, as would Mr Lynn.

He mentioned juries introduced their life experiences to trial and one specific half of their life expertise that the defence needed them to carry to this case was what they knew about banking practices in 2006 and 2007.

He mentioned the proof in the case had been affected by the inadequacy of the documentation offered by the establishments to the gardaí.

He mentioned that unfairness started proper at the starting when the garda investigation started.

He advised the jury there have been contradictions between financial institution paperwork and witnesses from the banks.

Mr Comiskey O’Keeffe mentioned Mr Lynn had not damaged any legal guidelines when he left Ireland or when he left Portugal for Brazil.

The court docket had not heard any proof from gardaí about their efforts to interview him.

He mentioned it was additionally not the case that Mr Lynn had no abroad financing as the jury had heard proof of a €24 million mortgage obtainable to him in Portugal, albeit very late in the day.

He reminded the jurors that Brian Fitzgibbon of Irish Nationwide Building Society had confirmed that the head of INBS Michael Fingleton had powers to do issues that weren’t in documentation.

He mentioned the documentation in the case didn’t mirror the entirety of the relationship between Mr Lynn and the establishments.

Mr Fitzgibbon had given proof that Mr Fingleton had tried to scapegoat him in relation to the mortgage to Mr Lynn.

Mr Comiskey O’Keeffe requested why Mr Fingleton would strive to distance himself from the mortgage if all the things was so as.

He mentioned not one monetary establishment concerned in the case had issued any letter of demand to Mr Lynn to adjust to an endeavor or to register a mortgage.

He will proceed his speech to the jury tomorrow morning.

Judge Martin Nolan will then deal with them, after which they’ll start contemplating their verdicts.



https://www.rte.ie/information/courts/2022/0526/1301351-michael-lynn/

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