The Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) is to seek a hearing date in the autumn for its application for court orders against Daniel Kinahan and Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh to seize a luxury mansion in west Dublin for the benefit of the State.
Neither Mr Kinahan nor Mr Kavanagh, who is jailed in England, participated in or were represented at the remote hearing of the proceedings on Tuesday, when Mr Justice Michael MacGrath was updated on the progress of Cab’s application for the orders against them concerning 10 Coldwater Lakes in Saggart.
Shelly Horan, for Cab, said it had engaged with the Metropolitan Police to ensure Mr Kavanagh was aware of the hearing, but he had replied “no comment” when a police officer spoke to him and asked him about legal representation and other matters.
Cab does not expect Mr Kavanagh to appear or engage but is not seeking any orders against him at this juncture, counsel said.
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Cab is separately seeking similar orders against Daniel Kinahan and it got permission last week to serve the proceedings on him out of the jurisdiction by registered post.
Mr Kinahan is believed to be in Dubai but the High Court, at the request of Cab, asked that the precise addresses where the proceedings are to be served on him not be disclosed.
Both addresses were based on information of the US Treasury’s office of foreign assets control (OFAC), which has applied worldwide sanctions against Kinahan and other senior members of the Kinahan cartel.
On Tuesday, Ms Horan asked that the case be put back to July, which would give Mr Kavanagh and Mr Kinahan adequate time to enter an appearance. Counsel indicated she would be applying in July for a hearing date for the applications against the men in the new law term in October.
Mr Justice MacGrath put the matter back to July 19th.
Cab claims the five-bedroom property at 10 Coldwater Lakes represents the proceeds of crime and is effectively owned or controlled by Mr Kinahan.
It took proceedings earlier this year against brothers Jimmy Mansfield jnr and Patrick Joseph Mansfield, and against Mr Kinahan and Mr Kavanagh, ultimately aimed at seizing the property.
In affidavits, Cab has outlined its belief that 10 Coldwater Lakes was sold for €2 million in 2006 to a company of the group founded by deceased businessman James Mansfield snr. It said that around 2014 it was then passed into the control of the crime gang in which, the court was previously told, Cab believes Mr Kinahan and Mr Kavanagh play leading roles.
Cab has claimed that information from a protected witness indicates Mr Mansfield jnr gave 10 Coldwater Lakes, plus various cash payments, to the Kinahan/Kavanagh gang following a failure to make property investments with about €4.5 million cash the gang gave him in two suitcases on Good Friday in 2009.
The Mansfield brothers previously consented to orders waiving any claim against the property.
Cab was also permitted to serve the proceedings on Mr Kavanagh in the high-security Belmarsh prison in England, where he is serving a 21-year sentence for his role in importing drugs with a street value of £30 million (€36 million) into the UK.
Last month, the US OFAC imposed sanctions on seven senior members of the Kinahan cartel as part of a targeted bid to block property of transnational criminal organisations. Those sanctioned include Daniel Kinahan, his brother Christy jnr and their father Christy snr.
The US said the Kinahan organised crime gang smuggled deadly narcotics to Europe and is “a threat to the entire licit economy” through its role in international money laundering. The US government also offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to arrest of the gang leaders or the financial disruption of the organised crime group.
