Two more Irishmen joined Flynn and Cunningham on Bulgaria trip

TWO more Irish citizens travelled to Bulgaria in connection with activities which are under investigation as part of an alleged IRA money laundering operation.

The two men travelled as part of a group of six that included Cork businessman Ted Cunningham and former Government aide Phil Flynn on a week-long trip to the capital, Sofia, at the end of January.

Their names are known to the Irish Examiner but are not disclosed for legal reasons. One of the men is believed to be a speculator.

A German-based male solicitor with business contacts in Bulgaria and Ireland and a female representative of an international consulting firm made up the group.

Fresh details about the trip have been compiled by the Bulgarian newspaper 24 Chasa (24 Hours), which is also reporting today that Mr Cunningham and Mr Flynn lodged two sums of money, £58,000 and €2,400, in bank accounts they opened during their visit.

The newspaper is also reporting that the group registered three companies, Alexander Finance, Bulgarian Property & Development and Addison.

A source close to the investigation here confirmed the membership of the group and the creation of the companies.

However, the source said the third company was called Saint Sofia, not Addison, and said the lodgements claimed were wildly inaccurate and were closer to a few thousand euro in total.

The details emerged last night as Bulgarian officials confirmed Mr Flynn’s assertion in yesterday’s Irish Examiner that he had met a senior Ministry of Finance official during his visit.

A statement from the ministry had earlier denied any such meeting but it was later stated that Ilia Lingorski, deputy finance minister with responsibility for foreign inward investment, had met the Irish visitors.

The ministry insisted, however, that it was normal practice for him to meet with potential investors and said any discussions concerned only the “general business environment”.

Bulgarian police, meanwhile, said they had the names of the property developers the Irish men met and the lawyers they hired.

Senior official in charge of the police, Boiko Borissov, said the group stayed at the four-star Crystal Palace Hotel, in Sofia’s historic university district, and rented space in an office block known as the Cacao office building, after the nightclub in its basement.

Bulgaria’s Financial Investigation Agency said it was also investigating the money laundering allegations, but dismissed reports that suggested the IRA was planning to buy a bank or set up its own financial institution.

“We have intercepted neither any large-scale financial operation to launder money through the financial system of the country nor an attempt to buy a bank,” agency director Vasil Kirov told Bulgarian News Network.

“No one can come to buy a bank here and remain unnoticed,” he added.