Agency probes IRA links to €44m property empire

ABOUT 250 properties associated with two Manchester-based businessmen were yesterday being investigated by Assets Recovery Agency officials in the North as part of a probe into IRA links.

The agency confirmed that a number of searches had been conducted in Manchester involving a £30 million (€44m) property portfolio that had been acquired over a period of time.

The searches were carried out on domestic and business properties linked with the two businessmen. The agency is believed to have been investigating the assets of alleged IRA chief-of-staff Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy.