Charges against two men accused over the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery two years ago were dramatically withdrawn in Belfast today.
Dominic McEvoy (23) a builder from Co Down, was told he would not have to stand trial for the heist in December 2004 which many believe was the work of the IRA.
Allegations that another man, Martin McAliskey (40) withheld information and attempted to pervert the course of justice were also dropped.
Solicitors for both men protested at the city's Magistrates' Court, and later Northern Ireland's Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, admitted: "It's a setback."
The Public Prosecution Service decided Mr McEvoy, of Mullandra Park, Kilcoo, no longer had a case to answer after studying a police file.
But a third man, Northern Bank staff member Chris Ward (25) from Poleglass, west Belfast, is still accused of the robbery. He was remanded on bail to appear again later this month.
The raid, which at the time was the biggest cash heist in British history, wrecked attempts to revive Northern Ireland's power-sharing government.
The Northern Bank also issued a complete batch of new notes in a bid to make the stolen currency worthless.
But with the authorities under increasing pressure to secure convictions, the dropped charges were a major blow to one of the biggest investigations yet mounted by the PSNI.
Sinn Féin Assembly member Caitríona Ruane hit out at the handling of the investigation, saying it was dominated by a "political agenda".
"It was never about finding those responsible, it has always been about trying to implicate republicans. To date they have failed and will continue to fail," she said.
DUP Assembly member and deputy speaker at Stormont, Jim Wells, said the issue was a big embarrassment for the police.
"This unfortunately isn't the first time that the police's level of detective work has failed to meet the mark. It's quite worrying that again it seems to be lack of diligence by the PSNI has left us in this position.
"It undermines public confidence in policing because obviously this was a major, major event in Northern Ireland's history. Because of that police should have made sure the case was robust and clearly they haven't," Mr Wells claimed.
PA