The two Manchester businessmen whose offices were raided by the Assets Recovery Agency are to hold a press conference on Monday. Dermot Craven and Brian Pepper, of the Craven property group, will make their first public comments at the office of the group's solicitor on Monday morning.
Richard Holliday, a solicitor acting for Mr Pepper, said it was likely Mr Pepper would disclose on Monday the circumstances in which his client may have met Thomas Murphy, the alleged IRA leader being investigated by the ARA.
"It is possible they were in the same place at the same time on one occasion," Mr Holliday said, but he was not in a position to say when that possible contact occurred.
Mr Holliday said he could confirm Mr Murphy had at no stage been a client of Mr Pepper's or any part of the Craven Group.
"They have had no dealings with each other. They are not friends."
He said Mr Pepper had answered all the questions put to him by the ARA about his own business dealings insofar "as they include Dermot Craven and other people, including Mr Murphy".
Earlier a solicitor acting for the Craven Group said it has had no dealings to its knowledge with Mr Murphy.
Michael Kenyon said: "I am not aware that the group had any dealings with Mr Murphy. The group has no connection with Mr Murphy," he said.
He added that representatives of the group had been questioned by ARA officers during inquiries into Mr Murphy, but he believed there might not be any need for further questioning. "My clients are innocent and will be shown to be innocent."
He said he was acting for the group and not for Mr Craven or Mr Pepper.
"This is a unique situation," he said. "This has a political agenda but unfortunately it is one that is to the detriment of my clients, who will be shown to be innocent."
Mr Kenyon said he laughed when he found himself agreeing with Gerry Adams on Thursday evening, when the Sinn Féin president said the raids were part of a political agenda involving the British government and the ARA.
"The ARA is clearly trying to manipulate the media in its favour. They are using this opportunity to show their political masters that they are doing something in return for the money that's been spent on them." He said the media had been "well fed and guided from the outset . . . The ARA is desperate for some favourable coverage."
He said he also found himself agreeing with the Rev Ian Paisley. For 20 years nothing had been done about republican and loyalist criminality, "but now suddenly they are pretending to be doing something that should have been done 20 years ago. The problem for my clients is that they are now suffering reputational damage as a result."
Mr Kenyon said Thursday's raids on the Craven Group's offices were part of a civil inquiry into assets. "No wrongdoing is suggested against the group or its staff," he said.