A Dublin solicitor has denied that contracts for the sale of land in Offaly in which he was involved were 'bizarre'.
Jeremy Doyle was giving evidence about his involvement with former Offaly Fianna Fáil councillor and auctioneer Ger Killally, who is being sued for €10m amid allegations of fraudulent land deals.
Investors in the deal allege that millions of euro in secret profits were made by Mr Killally and that dummy contracts were drawn up.
They are suing Mr Killally and a firm of solicitors, John Burke and Company in Walkinstown, along with other advisers to their consortium.
The investors claim that John Burke and Company had or should have had concerns about the deal and failed to inform them.
The investors claim they were assured that portions of the land could be readily sold on and contracts for this were in place.
Those contracts were never completed and the investors claim they were bogus.
Mr Doyle, a partner in Doyle Hanlon Solicitors of Mountjoy Square, was alleged to have told another solicitor that he was told he would be paid €150,000 to get involved in 'dummy contracts'.
At the High Court today, he said that was 'absolutely incorrect'.
He said he had been asked a series of questions by a solicitor acting for Mr Burke and company and he felt the conversation had been 'distorted'.
Mr Doyle said he had entered into contracts to buy the land in question.
Later for his 'own reasons', he decided not to proceed and instead entered into another contract to sell the contract to Mr Killally.
It was put to him by counsel for Mr Burke and company that this was a 'bizarre' set of transactions. He denied this.
John Burke and Company are among a number of defendants being sued by the investors who claim they had a duty to inform them of concerns they may have had about the land deals.
Mr Killally, who was the leading personality behind the scheme, is alleged to have made a secret profit by buying the land for €4.7m and selling it on to the investment syndicate for €10.7m.
The case continues at the High Court.
