Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy challenges tax evasion conviction

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy was serving an 18-month sentence for tax evasion while challenging his conviction in the Court of Appeal. The case followed an investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau. The proceedings were reported on 8 November 2016.

His lawyers argued that the tax underlying his conviction had already been paid by his brother.

John Kearney, Murphy’s barrister, criticised the Special Criminal Court’s ruling for running to just ten pages despite the volume of documents involved. He also argued that the court had wrongly reduced its consideration of the case to a set of central issues.

The appeal comprised 48 grounds grouped into seven main areas. These included questions about independence, the admission of a statement under section 16 and alleged flaws in the verdict.

Three judges were hearing the appeal, which was expected to take three days.