A court has approved an independent surety of €100,000 in order for former solicitor Michael Lynn to take up bail ahead of his trial in 2020 on multi-million euro theft charges.
Mr Lynn (49) of Carlton Square, Maynooth, Co Kildare, is accused of stealing almost €30 million from seven financial institutions.
His sister-in-law, Lilian Lynn, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday morning, where she asserted that the sum of €100,000 would remain frozen in her bank account until after the trial.
Judge Melanie Greally warned Ms Lynn that the sum of €100,000 would be “very much at peril” if her brother-in-law breached any one of his strict bail conditions.
When asked if she was happy to assume that risk, Ms Lynne replied that she was. She also agreed that the money must stay untouched until the end of the trial, which is due to start in January 2020 and is expected to last between six to eight weeks.
Prosecuting counsel Cathleen Noctor BL agreed that the State was satisfied with the bona fides of Ms Lynn’s bank account.
Bail conditions
Ms Noctor also confirmed that Mr Lynn’s passport, along with those of his wife and four children, had already been surrendered to gardaí as a condition of bail.
Karl Monaghan BL, defending, outlined Mr Lynn’s other bail conditions which include a daily sign-on at Leixlip Garda Station.
He must also reside at his Maynooth address, abide by a curfew of 9pm to 6am, stay away from Irish ports and airports and remain within the jurisdiction.
Mr Lynn is also obliged to carry a mobile phone which is reachable by gardaí at all times.
The former solicitor was extradited to Ireland in March from Brazil where he had been living for a number of years. He was taken into custody in Brazil in August 2013.
In one of the sample charges before the court, Mr Lynn is accused of stealing €4.1 million from Irish Nationwide on April 4th, 2007.
In another sample count, he is charged with stealing €3.6 million from Ulster Bank on October 20th, 2006.
A trial date was confirmed for January 13th, 2020. A pre-trial date was previously set for November 28th, 2019.