Daniel Kinahan to seek bail via High Court as Dublin trial timetable takes shape

Alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan, 49, appeared at Dublin's Special Criminal Court on Monday. A bail application is expected in the coming weeks.

Kinahan bail bid expected within weeks as Dublin court sets trial groundwork

A bail application for alleged crime gang leader Daniel Kinahan will be lodged through the High Court in the coming weeks, the Special Criminal Court in Dublin was told on Monday, according to dailyecho.co.uk.

Kinahan, 49, appeared briefly before the three-judge court wearing a grey suit, black shirt and glasses. He did not speak during the hearing.

He faces a single charge of directing the activities of a criminal organisation between 18 October 2015 and 6 April 2017. Kinahan is alleged to be a leader of the Kinahan organised crime group.

He was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on 15 April under a warrant issued by the Irish courts, in accordance with a bilateral extradition agreement between Ireland and the UAE. He was flown to Ireland on an Irish Government jet in August and taken by high-speed Garda escort to court in Dublin, where the charge was formally put to him.

Belfast solicitor Darragh Mackin, of Phoenix Law, applied to come on record as Kinahan's legal representative. Mackin told the court he was "grateful" for its accommodation the previous week, when the case had been adjourned to allow him to attend other matters.

Mackin said papers would be lodged and a bail application made in due course through the High Court. He also said the trial timetable must allow for expert examination of digital evidence.

The defence is additionally seeking full disclosure relating to two other investigations in which Kinahan was acquitted — one in Spain and a separate inquiry in Dubai — and Mackin said those matters needed to be factored into the scheduling.

Prosecution barrister Dominic McGinn SC said Kinahan had been extradited in August in relation to the single charge and that there is a "complex factual matrix" underpinning it. McGinn said the statement of fact ran to 189 pages and that the book of evidence would take several weeks to prepare.

Mackin said he had no objection to that timeline, provided those factors were built into the overall timetable for proceedings.

Kinahan was remanded in custody and is due to appear before the court again on 21 December. The hearing was presided over by Ms Justice Caroline Biggs, Her Hon Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Kevin Staunton.

Source: The Sun