OMAGH VICTIMS TO SUE MURPHY
OMAGH VICTIMS TO SUE MURPHY
Claim planned against millionaire bomb plotter
By Sean O'Driscoll
RELATIVES of the Omagh victims are to seek compensation from millionaire bomb plotter Colm Murphy, their spokesman said today.
Michael Gallagher was speaking the day after Murphy was convicted of plotting the Omagh atrocity which killed 29 people and two unborn children in August 1998. Mr Gallagher appealed for public funds before launching the claim against Murphy and three other men/ allegedly responsible for the killing. The Omagh victims need at least another �700,000 to take their case against Murphy before their legal time limit runs out in August. Mr Gallagher made his comment as it emerged that Murphy transferred IR�240,000 into his children's accounts two months before the Omagh victims announced that they were to sue the bombers, the Belfast Telegraph has learnt.
Mr Gallagher, whose son, Aidan, was killed in the Omagh bomb, last night described the move as a cynical attempt to evade justice.
Murphy transferred the money and made substantial changes to his finances as speculation mounted that the Omagh victims were to sue the men responsible for the bombing. In mid-August, 1999, Murphy wrote out three cheques from his business account to each of his three children. The cheques were then lodged in building society accounts in their names and in the name of his wife, Anne.
Murphy's sub-contracting business made huge sums of money during the 1990s building boom in Dublin.
He personally gained tens of thousands of pounds in Irish taxpayers' money for government-funding building projects, while on a Special Branch list as a leading member of Continuity IRA. Mr Gallagher said that he was yet to consult with lawyers acting for the victims to see if the money transferred to Murphy's children can be recovered.
"It would seem that the money was transferred before we launched the civil action, which is pending at the moment. We need to talk to the legal people because we simply don't know if we have the power to trace that money back to Murphy."
Mr Gallagher said that while the civil and criminal systems were separate, yesterday's conviction was "a shot in the arm" for the civil case against Murphy and the others listed in their civil suit as responsible for the Omagh bombing.
Mr Gallagher said the conviction was only "the first hurdle" covered this week - the second is the meeting between the victims and Chief Constable, Ronnie Flanagan, in Omagh tomorrow.
The Chief Constable is to give the Omagh victims a detailed response to the Ombudsman's scathing report on the police investigation into the bombing. A detailed police response to Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's report is to go before the Policing Board today ana will be made public after Mr Flanagan's meeting with the Omagh victims tomorrow.
Murphy, a millionaire builder, has done his best to keep his wealth from public view, but gardai believe that he still has substantial assets at his disposal. The Bureau of Fraud Investigation has been investigating his finances since the Omagh bombing and believe that Murphy had an annual income of at least IR�200,000.
Claim planned against millionaire bomb plotter
By Sean O'Driscoll
RELATIVES of the Omagh victims are to seek compensation from millionaire bomb plotter Colm Murphy, their spokesman said today.
Michael Gallagher was speaking the day after Murphy was convicted of plotting the Omagh atrocity which killed 29 people and two unborn children in August 1998. Mr Gallagher appealed for public funds before launching the claim against Murphy and three other men/ allegedly responsible for the killing. The Omagh victims need at least another �700,000 to take their case against Murphy before their legal time limit runs out in August. Mr Gallagher made his comment as it emerged that Murphy transferred IR�240,000 into his children's accounts two months before the Omagh victims announced that they were to sue the bombers, the Belfast Telegraph has learnt.
Mr Gallagher, whose son, Aidan, was killed in the Omagh bomb, last night described the move as a cynical attempt to evade justice.
Murphy transferred the money and made substantial changes to his finances as speculation mounted that the Omagh victims were to sue the men responsible for the bombing. In mid-August, 1999, Murphy wrote out three cheques from his business account to each of his three children. The cheques were then lodged in building society accounts in their names and in the name of his wife, Anne.
Murphy's sub-contracting business made huge sums of money during the 1990s building boom in Dublin.
He personally gained tens of thousands of pounds in Irish taxpayers' money for government-funding building projects, while on a Special Branch list as a leading member of Continuity IRA. Mr Gallagher said that he was yet to consult with lawyers acting for the victims to see if the money transferred to Murphy's children can be recovered.
"It would seem that the money was transferred before we launched the civil action, which is pending at the moment. We need to talk to the legal people because we simply don't know if we have the power to trace that money back to Murphy."
Mr Gallagher said that while the civil and criminal systems were separate, yesterday's conviction was "a shot in the arm" for the civil case against Murphy and the others listed in their civil suit as responsible for the Omagh bombing.
Mr Gallagher said the conviction was only "the first hurdle" covered this week - the second is the meeting between the victims and Chief Constable, Ronnie Flanagan, in Omagh tomorrow.
The Chief Constable is to give the Omagh victims a detailed response to the Ombudsman's scathing report on the police investigation into the bombing. A detailed police response to Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's report is to go before the Policing Board today ana will be made public after Mr Flanagan's meeting with the Omagh victims tomorrow.
Murphy, a millionaire builder, has done his best to keep his wealth from public view, but gardai believe that he still has substantial assets at his disposal. The Bureau of Fraud Investigation has been investigating his finances since the Omagh bombing and believe that Murphy had an annual income of at least IR�200,000.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0815
Published Date: 23-Jan-02
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