A former solicitor and one of his clients have appeared in court in Kildare charged with misappropriating, and obtaining by deception, over €8.8m.
Tony McAuliffe, 69, from French Furze, Kildare town, and 42-year-old John Duffy, from Clogheen, Monasterevin in Kildare, were each charged with two counts of theft and fraud offences totalling €8,825,000.
The money was borrowed from Investec Bank to buy land but never paid back.
Naas District Court heard the allegation that two companies were set up to dupe Investec Bank into loaning money to buy land but the money was never repaid.
Detective Sergeant Pat Lenehan of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation told the court that when Mr Duffy was charged this morning he replied "not guilty" to both counts.
The detective said that the money had been lent on condition that there was a third-party buyer for the land and a €7m deposit given, but that the third-party could not buy the land and no deposit ever existed.
Detective Garda Eamon Kelly said he arrested Mr McAuliffe at 10.03am this morning and, when charged, he replied: "The day I bought it I had a buyer".
The court was also told that legal documents were sent to the bank to show that contracts for sale of the land to a third-party existed but that the bank would never have lent the money without a buyer and a €7m deposit.
Judge Desmond Zaidan said the allegations were very serious but he granted both accused bail on their own bond of €10,000 to appear again next month.
The judge was also told that there was a third accused who was not present because he was ill, but that the State hoped to have that person before the court on the next date.
