Gardaí may not be able to bring criminal charges against missing solicitor Michael Lynn unless he voluntarily returns to Ireland from abroad for interview.
Well-placed senior Garda sources have said the investigation into Mr Lynn's property dealings are proving so complex that investigators will need to put a range of issues to him before a viable case against him, if one arises, could be put to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for consideration. It means if Mr Lynn decides not to come back to Ireland voluntarily to address difficulties related to his business affairs gardaí may never be in a position to press the charges needed to extradite him.
Senior Garda sources believe if Mr Lynn fails to return it will, at best, make the preparation of a case against him much more difficult and lengthy.
Currently Mr Lynn's affairs are under investigation by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation.
That probe began after the High Court in December directed that documentation related to the now missing solicitor's dealings should be sent to the specialist Garda unit.
A dedicated team of officers is dealing with the substantial workload in the case.
Gardaí at this stage believe a vital part of their investigation will be interviewing Mr Lynn to put certain matters to him.
However, because there are no criminal charges against him gardaí are unable to force his return to Ireland via extradition or a European Arrest Warrant.
There is currently a High Court warrant for Mr Lynn's arrest. Under this gardaí have been instructed to arrest him and bring him before the High Court. That warrant was issued last December after Mr Lynn failed to attend court appearances.
However, the warrant can only be executed in the Republic of Ireland.
Separately, last Tuesday the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Richard Johnson, directed that documents relating to Mr Lynn's affairs be referred to the DPP to consider a prosecution for criminal contempt.
However, informed sources said that even if the DPP decides to pursue such a prosecution he, the DPP, is very unlikely to seek Mr Lynn's extradition from another jurisdiction on contempt grounds alone.
If an extradition was sought on contempt of court grounds Mr Lynn could only be prosecuted for the contempt offence. He would have a very strong case in resisting any subsequent efforts to prosecute for more serious matters relating to his business dealings.
Mr Lynn has been accused of taking out multiple mortgages on the same properties and has estimated liabilities of some €80 million.
His assets have been valued at some €52.5 million and he or his firms were listed as having 154 bank accounts and dealings concerning 148 properties.
In his absence one of his homes has been sold for €4.9 million. Financial institutions to which he owes funds have continued their legal efforts to recover as much of their money as possible and in some cases have been granted permission to dispose of other properties.
He is facing 48 charges of alleged professional misconduct following investigations by the internal disciplinary body of the Law Society.
Mr Lynn is known to have visited the United Kingdom, Portugal, Bulgaria and the United States in recent weeks.
His extensive portfolio of assets includes properties in those countries.
Gardaí have issued notices to the authorities in other jurisdictions asking that they be informed if Mr Lynn passes through immigration control at their ports or airports.
However, in the absence of criminal charges gardaí are powerless to act on the information relating to his movements.
