Callely protests innocence on his release

Ivor Callely protested his innocence after being released from custody by fraud squad officers.

The former Fianna Fáil junior minister was freed 24 hours after his arrest and subsequent questioning over his mobile phone expenses while a senator.

Mr Callely’s solicitor Noel O’Hanrahan read out a short statement after his client emerged from Irishtown Garda station.

“Mr Callely is completely and totally innocent of any wrongdoing,” he said.

A Garda spokesman said a report would be sent to the DPP after Mr Callely was released without charge.

Fianna Fáil whip Seán Ó Fearghail said that if it was proved Mr Callely had been guilty of any wrongdoing he should face the consequences.

“The law must take its course. It’s an issue that I would hope would be brought to conclusion as quickly as possible and that Ivor should face the full rigours of the law if he has broken the law in any respect,” he said.

A year-long investigation into claims Mr Callely fraudulently obtained expenses for mobile phones on falsified receipts saw his home and office searched by gardaí on Wednesday.

Officers from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation quizzed him on suspicion of alleged breaches of a section of the Theft and Fraud Offences Act, which prohibits the commission of fraud using “false instruments”.

The maximum punishment if found guilty of such an offence is 10 years in prison. The former junior transport minister was questioned over allegations of falsely claiming about €3,000 for mobile expenses while a senator between 2002 and 2006 for a company that had gone out of business in the 1990s.

It is believed he supplied invoices from the company, even though it was no longer trading.