Judge warns car dealer of jailing

The Revenue has urged the High Court to again jail a car dealer for contempt of court orders requiring him to fully co-operate with its efforts to execute a €4.75 million judgment against him over unpaid taxes.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly warned John Kane today he faces going to jail for “a long time” if he fails to satisfactorily answer a 31-page affidvait from the Collector General outlining what the Revenue’s counsel described as “a litany of non-co-operation, evasion and deception of the Revenue” by Mr Kane in disclosing his asset position.

Anthony Collins SC, for the Revenue, said its engagement with Mr Kane and a cross-examination of him had shown a lot of things told by him to the Revenue were untrue, including his claims of owning certain property when he did not. It was clear he was not co-operating and the court should lift the stay on its order committing him to prison, Mr Collins said.

The judge said the Revenue’s efforts to secure compliance from Mr Kane had been going on for about a year now and they were contending he was still deceiving them.

The situation was “very serious” and if Mr Kane did not answer in an affidavit the Revenue’s complaints to the court’s satisfaction, his prospect of spending “a long time” in prison was “looming very large”, the judge said.

Representing himself, Mr Kane, also known as Alex Kane, of Granard, Co Longford, said he had done all he could to answer the Revenue’s questions, could do no more and had given his word he was telling the truth. He said he needed legal assistance to answer the Revenue’s affidavit but had no money for that but would seek legal aid.

On that basis, the judge adjourned to July 28th the Revenue’s application to lift the existing stay on the court’s order of April 25th last sanctioning a second period of imprisonment for Mr Kane. He was previously jailed for a week last December for contempt.

The Revenue had in July 2009 obtained summary judgment orders for €4.97 million against John Kane and €5.27 million against his brother, Pauraig Kane, over unpaid taxes in connection with the operation of their SUV business in Granard.

The Revenue also obtained orders freezing the brothers’ accounts below some €10 million and directing them to fully disclose their assets.