Slab Murphy 'owns no properties'

Alleged IRA Chief of Staff Thomas “Slab” Murphy today denied he had any connection with properties in Manchester being probed as part of an investigation into the alleged assets of the republican terrorist group.

Murphy said there was “absolutely no foundation” to the allegations about him which had been repeated at length over the past week.

He said he owned no property either in Manchester or elsewhere.

The Assets Recovery Agency last week raided the assets of property company Craven Property as part of its investigations into alleged IRA links to 250 Manchester properties valued at around £30m (€43.7m).

In a statement issued through Belfast solicitors Madden and Finucane, the farmer, whose property straddles the South Armagh border at Crossmaglen, denied any connection with Craven Property Group.

On Monday, property company boss Dermot Craven denied having any dealings with ‘Slab’ Murphy – but said he had done business with Murphy’s brother Frank.

Murphy said in his statement: “There is absolutely no foundation to the allegations about me which have been carried in the media for some time, and repeated at length over the past week.

“I have never conducted any business with the Craven Property Group, nor have I any link with other businesses run by them.”