Brexit prevents extradition of company director wanted over £5m tax fraud, lawyers to argue

A construction company director from Roscommon facing extradition to the United Kingdom over a £5 million tax fraud will argue before the Court of Appeal that Brexit prevents his removal from the State. Thomas Joseph O'Connor, aged 49, was sentenced in his absence to four-and-a-half years imprisonment following conviction at Blackfriars Crown Court in 2007. He returned to Ireland without attending his sentencing hearing and was arrested on an extradition warrant in 2009. The High Court ordered his extradition, but O'Connor appealed. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in October 2015 and the Supreme Court subsequently rejected a further appeal. At hearing today, O'Connor's counsel submitted that the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union rendered extradition impossible and sought leave for a Habeas Corpus application. The bench raised concerns about the legal appropriateness of such proceedings for a person on bail. Re-entered High Court extradition proceedings are scheduled for July 4 and 5.