High Court grants Cab freezing orders on Dublin man’s properties

The Criminal Assets Bureau has secured freezing orders from the High Court over three properties belonging to a Dublin man it alleges has "a prolonged and deep history" of criminality.

Mr Justice George Birmingham granted Cab orders over properties belonging to Dean Russell (44) after finding the assets amounted to the proceeds of crime. They are a four-bedroom home at Riverside Park, Clonshaugh, Dublin; an apartment at Lymewood Mews, Northwood, Santry, Dublin; and an apartment in Spain.

The court appointed Cab's legal officer Declan O'Reilly as receiver over the apartment in Santry. An application to appoint him as receiver to the other properties will be made later this year, after certain investigations have been conducted.

Absent
Mr Russell was not in court yesterday and was not legally represented during the hearing. In affidavits, he had opposed Cab's application and denied the properties were acquired with the proceeds of crime. He claimed they were acquired as a result of his work in various enterprises including window cleaning, furniture sales, a taxi business and from car sales.

In his ruling, the judge said he was satisfied the assets were the proceeds of crime. Mr Russell had access to “significant amounts of funds” which were “quite in excess of any funds generated by legitimate activities he was involved in”, he said.

The judge said the house in Clonshaugh was bought in 1995 for £53,000, the apartments in Spain and Santry a decade later for €400,000. Mortgages were obtained on all of these. Mr Russell and another party also acquired a property in Co Louth for about €400,000.

The judge said there was no proper explanation tendered as to where the monies for these purchases came from. Reports from Mr Russell's accountants were based on what they had been told by Mr Russell himself, he noted.

Previous convictions

Mr Russell had 12 previous convictions, the most serious in 1991 in connection with a post office robbery and was also involved in two gangland feuds,

the judge said.