By Ruth Mercer
The Supreme Court has dismissed Criminal Assets Bureau proceedings which had resulted in a £1.78 million tax judgment against Sean Hunt and related orders concerning assets held by his wife Rosaleen Hunt.
The Bureau began investigating Mr Hunt in November 1998 after receiving information alleging his involvement in the illegal importation and street sale of tobacco products and fireworks. The judgment records that he had made no tax returns for at least ten years. CAB obtained financial records which it said showed more than £3 million passing through accounts connected with the Hunts between 1988 and 1998.
In June 1999, assessments were raised against Mr Hunt for £1,296,859.76 in income tax and £481,484 in VAT. CAB then brought High Court proceedings and secured a Mareva injunction freezing specified assets, including a jointly owned house in Ballyfermot, bank accounts and an investment policy.
Following a 12-day hearing, the High Court held Mr Hunt liable for £1,778,343.76 and declared him beneficially entitled to certain accounts and policies held in Mrs Hunt's name.
Chief Justice Ronan Keane concluded that CAB's proceedings should instead have been dismissed.
He held that the Oireachtas had established an exclusive statutory system for determining disputed tax liability through assessments, appeals to the Appeal Commissioners and related procedures. CAB could not bypass that machinery by asking the High Court to decide the amount of tax while the assessments remained open to challenge.
The court also held that a statutory demand for payment was required before recovery proceedings and that none had been made. Separately, bank statements obtained during the investigation had not been properly proved and should not have been admitted merely because they passed between CAB officers.
The ruling did not decide Mr Hunt's separate judicial review challenge to the tax assessments. Those proceedings had never been determined by the High Court and remained outside the scope of the appeal.