Mr Gerry Hutch, a north Dublin man suspected by gardai of involvement in several major armed robberies, has paid £500,000 to the State as part of a legal settlement for tax and other assessments.
The total settlement is believed to be over £2 million and results from investigations by the Criminal Assets Bureau.
Mr Hutch has never been convicted of serious offences and has never had any known legal source of income. Last year he claimed he had no money and sought legal aid.
He has also put at least four properties on the market in north inner Dublin, worth up to £600,000. The proceeds will go towards his final settlement.
A tax demand for £2,031,551 was served on Mr Hutch by the CAB last May. He challenged this in the High Court but came to an agreement last week. It is understood he brought money back from accounts he held in Northern Ireland and Jersey. At a High Court hearing a CAB officer said Mr Hutch was suspected of leading the gang that robbed an armoured van of £1.7 million in 1987 and a £3 million robbery in 1996.
He and four gang members had used accounts in their wives' and children's names to hide assets.
The head of the bureau, Chief Supt Felix McKenna, would not comment on the case yesterday but said that "the trail continues in respect of assets from organised crime".