One of Ireland's best-known businessmen has been investigated by gardaí over allegations that he illegally accessed the telephone messages of a number of associates. The man's wife has also been investigated by gardaí in relation to the same allegations.
However, while a Garda file on the man's alleged activities was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), no such file has been sent in relation to the woman's alleged activities.
The Garda investigation began about nine months ago when a Dublin-based businesswoman made a complaint to gardaí.
She told detectives she believed some of her telephone messages had been accessed before she had listened to them. She believed the developer had listened to them. The suspect had mentioned information to her that she believed he could only have known if he had listened to her voice messages.
From an analysis of her phone records, officers were able to identify all of the phones that had dialled her number. They traced one of these phones to a company owned by the businessman.
He was interviewed four times in the presence of his solicitor but denied the allegations. Gardaí sent their file to the DPP, who has directed that no prosecution should be pursued. The allegations on his wife's role in the matter did not reach the stage of being sent to the DPP.
Garda sources said the phone from which the calls were allegedly made was registered to the man's company rather than him personally. That means the chain of evidence linking the suspect to the calls was weak. Sources said the complaints already made will not lead to any prosecution being pursued.
However, gardaí believe the man may have listened to other people's messages and have not ruled out the possibility that they will find these people and the investigation will be widened.
If the investigation is widened, the businessman may find himself facing charges of illegal interception and of criminal damage. Both of these offences are contained in the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act.
Mobile phone operators advise their customers to take steps to secure their voicemail accounts against tampering.
When a new phone number is registered, its voicemail access code is set to the default 0000 until it is changed by the owner. While the pin remains unchanged, the account is effectively "open" to others.
By dialling 171 from one's mobile and following the instructions provided, customers can personalise their pin code to prevent access by others.
