Painstaking inquiry into fraud

The court heard that Breifne O’Brien’s deceptions first began to come to light when an allegation was made during civil proceedings in 2008 and Mr Justice Peter Kelly referred the matter to the Garda fraud squad.

Detective Sergeant Martin Griffin said that the ensuing Garda investigation into the train of financial transactions from 2003 to 2009 involved a painstaking analysis of many thousands of documents and bank records.

He said 42 orders were sought from the district court for financial records covering the period.