High Court asked to determine if documents seized from FAI are privileged

Progress has been made in proceedings by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement concerning materials seized earlier this year from the Football Association of Ireland’s offices on foot of a search warrant, the High Court has been told.

Former FAI chief executive John Delaney is a notice party to the proceedings as the court has heard some of the documents may raise issues that are private to him. He left the FAI in September 2019.

As part of its ongoing investigation into certain matters concerning the FAI, the ODCE brought an application asking the High Court to determine if the seized documents and material are legally privileged. If the court finds information in the documents is legally privileged, it cannot be used by the ODCE in its investigation.

The application was briefly mentioned before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds on Thursday. Kerida Naidoo SC, with barrister Elva Duffy, for the ODCE, said progress has been made since the matter was previously before the court. It had been agreed issues concerning how some of the documents seized are to be inspected can be heard by the court later this month, he said.

It was also agreed that an application to see if the documents are legally privileged will be considered in July.

Jack Tchrakian, for Mr Delaney, and Brian Gageby, for the FAI, both consented to the proposed directions.

The ODCE’s applications, under the 2014 Companies Act, were brought after documents were seized from the FAI’s offices at Abbottstown on foot of a search warrant issued on February 14th.

The ODCE has made a number of similar applications since it commenced its investigation. Last year, the court ruled extracts of documents the FAI has given to the ODCE are covered by professional legal privilege and cannot be used as part of the investigation. That application concerned parts of documents provided to the ODCE by the FAI and its auditors, Deloitte Ireland LLP.