A Limerick businessman has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court accused of corruption.
Stephen O'Sullivan, aged 43, from Farrehy, Broadford, Co Limerick has pleaded not guilty to corruptly giving a detective garda €20,000 to reveal confidential information about an investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) in Limerick six years ago.
The investigation was in relation to a company of which Mr O'Sullivan was a director of on 22 December 2018.
David Bourke joined An Garda Síochána in 1995 and transferred to Limerick in 1998 where he became a detective and worked in a number of areas dealing with serious crime.
The court was also told that Mr O'Sullivan was a businessman who had a car dealership on the Ballysimon Road in Limerick, which was the subject of an alleged proceeds of crime investigation by CAB.
The investigation was known as Operation Glacier.
The prosecution told the court that on 22 December 2018, Det Gda Bourke and Mr O'Sullivan met in Bruree in Co Limerick, where Mr O'Sullivan sat in the Detective Garda's Berlingo van.
The conversation between them was recorded by a listening device and senior counsel Eoin Lawlor told the jury they will hear about a payment of €20,000 to Det Gda Bourke; him accepting the money, and him informing Mr O'Sullivan of the progress of the investigation into Mr O'Sullivan and others.
He said the jury will also hear Det Gda Bourke advise Mr O'Sullivan how to respond to the investigation and Mr O'Sullivan asking Det Gda Bourke to delay actions by the Revenue Commissioners into the running of his business.
The court was told that this was information that neither Det Gda Bourke nor Mr O'Sullivan "ought to have had" and that information in relation to Operation Glacier was being "carefully controlled".
The audio recording resulted in an investigation which the prosecution said led to Mr O'Sullivan meeting gardaí and giving his account of how he came to be in the Berlingo van that day with Det Gda Bourke, how he came to pay the money and his description of the circumstances.
The jury was told that Mr O'Sullivan maintains he was intimidated and extorted by Det Gda Bourke to pay the money.
Mr O'Sullivan has pleaded not guilty to a charge of corruptly giving or agreeing to give Det Gda Bourke a monetary gift, consideration or advantage as an inducement to or reward for or otherwise on account of doing an act in relation to his office, employment, position of business - to reveal confidential information concerning an investigation being carried out by CAB on 22 December 2018.
Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin warned the jury not to talk about the case or research anything connected to it on the internet outside the court.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
