Tip off led to cash find at police club

A mysterious tip off led to money possibly linked to the massive £26.5m (€38m) Northern Bank robbery in Belfast being found at a police sports club, it emerged tonight.

Police mounted a search at the Newforge Country Club in the south of the city last night after a call to the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman by a man purporting to be a police officer.

Officers discovered packets of money, including Northern Bank notes, in a building at the club.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the money, not believed to be a substantial amount, was thought to have been planted in a bid to divert attention from the crisis engulfing the IRA and Sinn Féin following the seizure of more than £2.3m (€3.3m) by gardaí investigating an alleged major IRA money laundering operation.

The money found in Belfast was being examined by forensic experts to see if it can be traced back to the bank robbery just before Christmas.

At the same time the gardaí were examining almost £2.5m seized in searches across the State.

With the Republican movement under fire Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams cut short a book-signing visit to Spain to chair an emergency meeting of members of the party executive in Dublin.

Meanwhile Cork businessman and money lender Ted Cunningham was released without charge after being questioned following the discovery of more than £2.3m at his home which was taken away in 17 sacks .

The 57-year-old made no comment as he was driven away from the Garda station in Cork in a white van.

One man arrested in the Cork area on Friday night, after a tip-off to police he was seen burning sterling bank notes in his back garden, remained in custody.

A search of the home at Passage West of the man in his 40’s unearthed ammunition and AK47 assault rifles.

All other people being questioned about the alleged money laundering scam have been released.

Only Don Bullman, a chef from Co Cork, has been charged with IRA membership after nearly €100,000 were allegedly discovered stuffed into a washing powder box in a Jeep.

After three days of activity which a Hollywood scriptwriter would have been hard-pressed to come up with, Gerry Adams insisted there was no crisis within republicanism, and Sinn Féin would weather the political storm.

He said there was a “trial by media” going on and allegations of Sinn Féin involvement in criminality, were “quite disgraceful”.

He said he considered it “a very serious situation”.

“To listen to some of our opponents , you would think that Sinn Féin as a party, Sinn Féin as an organisation, that those who vote for our party, are criminals and we’re not,” he said.

He said the party had not become isolated despite the arrest of a former party councillor in connection with the money racket – he was among those released without charge.

Across the border in Belfast police continued to investigate the find at the Newforge Country Club owned and run by the RUC Athletic Association for the use of serving and retired police officers and their families.

The PSNI added little to their first statement that initial checks suggested the discovery of the money was “an effort to distract police investigating the Northern Bank robbery and also to divert attention away from events elsewhere”.

They did , however, reveal that the money was found when a search was carried out at the club following a call to the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

Sources confirmed the find included Northern Bank notes.

The RUC Athletic Association said over the last few years it had sought to build relationships with the local community through its sports teams, adding: “It is of great regret to the Association and its members that others have sought to exploit this increased integration.”

Meanwhile the Bank of Scotland moved swiftly to appoint a new head to its Irish operations after the resignation of Phil Flynn the first high ranking casualty of the money laundering investigation.

Mr Flynn, a trusted advisor to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, industrial relations trouble-shooter and chairman of the national implementation body overseeing decentralisation, stepped down after being questioned by officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The former vice president of Sinn Féin was quizzed after it emerged he was a non-executive director of one of Mr Cunningham’s companies at the centre of the Garda probe.

Mr Flynn insisted he had absolutely no involvement in money laundering , but had resigned from the bank to protect its integrity.

The new bank chairman is Sir Ron Garrick, deputy chairman of the bank’s parent company HBOS.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said Mr Flynn had not been forced to quit his high profile positions in both the public and private sector.

It was a decision taken of his own accord, said Mr Ahern.

“He felt it was the right thing to do,” said the Taoiseach . “It was a matter for Phil. I hadn’t got around to consider it because you know we hadn’t got any reports back from the guards on these matters.”