Flynn behind everything, says Northern Bank money-laundering accused
The Cork man on trial for money-laundering declared to detectives during an off-camera interview in a garda station: “Phil Flynn is the boss behind everything.”
Phil Flynn is the former chairman of Bank of Scotland (Ireland) and he has been mentioned several times in the trial of Ted Cunningham of Woodbine Lodge, Farran, Co Cork who denied 20 charges of money-laundering, arising out of the investigation of the robbery of £26.5m from the Northern Bank in Belfast on December 20, 2004.
Cunningham (aged 60) was being interviewed on videotape at the Bridewell garda station in Cork and he requested to come off tape and talk to the to the head of the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Quilter.
He was cautioned that the off-camera interview could be used in evidence and he signed a rough transcript of the interview and initialled every page.
Det. Chief Supt Quilter went through this transcript with the jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court today. Cunningham described picking up money on four separate occasions from the same man driving different Northern-registered cars and bringing the money back to his home in Farran.
He said he was in phone contact with Catherine Nelson on a daily basis and used a code on the phone to indicate when he had picked up money. The code was “the postman came”.
“When I opened the bag I saw Ulster Bank written on the notes, I knew well, I rang Catherine and said I needed to meet her urgently (and was told) “The boys will sort it out”… Not to panic,” Cunningham said.
Det. chief Superintendent Quilter said that at one stage during the off-camera interview, Ted Cunningham breathed a sigh, appeared to hesitate and said: “Look, Phil Flynn is the boss behind everything, Catherine is the contact… Phil and Catherine were organising everything. I raised concerns with Phil that the money was from the Northern Bank robbery.
“He said he would be in contact. I told him I could not handle £5m. And eventually agreed on 5. I later told him I might move 10 or 11,” Cunningham said.
It was put to Det. Chief Supt Quilter that he wanted Cunningham to identify Phil Flynn. He denied that and said the information on Phil Flynn came from Cunningham.
Ciaran O’Loughlin senior counsel for the defendant put it to Det. Chief Supt Quilter that he threatened Cunningham that he would leak it to the media that Cunningham had named IRA names and that he would get a bullet in the head as a result.
“Absolutely not,” he replied.
