Seized ledger a record of Slab Murphy’s outgoings, trial hears

A forensic accountant working for the Criminal Assets Bureau has told the trial of prominent republican Thomas "Slab" Murphy for alleged tax evasion that a ledger seized during the search of a shed on the border with Northern Ireland is a record of expenditure by Thomas Murphy.

The trial at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin has also heard Mr Murphy's defence counsel claim that the ledger is a record of loans given by the accused man's brother.

It is the prosecution’s case that, although Mr Murphy conducted significant dealings in relation to cattle and land, and received farming grants from the Department of Agriculture, he failed to make any returns to revenue.

Mr Murphy (66), of Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, Co Louth, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges alleging that he failed to furnish a return of his income, profits or gains or the source of his income, profits or gains to the Collector General or the Inspector of Taxes for the years 1996/97 to 2004.

Mr Murphy is being prosecuted on foot of an investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The trial’s proceedings were taken up on Thursday with cross-examination of a forensic accountant, who works for CAB and cannot be named for legal reasons.

The accountant has previously given evidence that he examined documents, including ledgers, cheques and cheque books, seized by CAB in 2006 during the search of a shed on the border with Northern Ireland.

He told John Kearney QC, defending, that the ledgers he examined were “most certainly not the normal type of records one would encounter”.

A ledger, referred to as “the loan book,” was shown to the court.

The court has previously heard evidence that the accountant analysed and cross-referenced the entries in the ledger with a bank account opened in the name of Thomas Murphy.

“You say this is money taken out of the farming business by Thomas Murphy?” Mr Kearney said.

The accountant agreed.

Mr Kearney referred to an entry in the ledger which he termed “a milk bill”.

“That’s payment of a milk bill,” the accountant said, disagreeing with Mr Kearney that it referred to “a loan of milk”.

“Do you think it’s a special code?” Mr Kearney asked.

“It’s not any code that I’m aware of,” the accountant said.

Mr Kearney asked, “Does milk mean milk?”

“I think it does, judges,” the accountant said.

He disagreed with Mr Kearney that the ledger was a record of loans from Patrick Murphy to Thomas Murphy.

He also told Mr Kearney that he could not accept the suggestion that Patrick Murphy used the bank account opened in the name of Thomas Murphy.

“You won’t even accept the possibility?” Mr Kearney said.

“Absolutely not, no,” replied the accountant.

Mr Kearney put it to the accountant, “You have entirely misrepresented this book to the court”.

“I don’t accept that,” the accountant said.

Mr Kearney further suggested, “you have misrepresented it to the court as money taken out of the farming business by Thomas Murphy, where any fair and impartial analysis could accept the reasonable possibility of this being the record of money loaned”.

“I don’t accept that,” the accountant replied.

The trial resumes on Tuesday.