Thousands of mourners, including a who’s who of past All Blacks, gathered yesterday to remember the legendary Colin Meads, hailed as one of New Zealand’s greatest ever rugby players.

Former ICC Bank executive Denis O’Connell gave evidence today of travelling to Bulgaria in 2004 with the man who was later accused of laundering more than £3m from the Northern Bank robbery.

ONE of the most intriguing elements of the investigation into the Northern Bank robbery and subsequent money-laundering operation was the theory that the masterminds behind it planned to buy a bank in Bulgaria to convert the hot cash into legal tender.

A BULGARIAN lawyer yesterday confirmed that he met with Phil Flynn and Ted Cunningham several times in January and planned to help them buy property in Bulgaria.