The case was due to open on Tuesday but, following talks, Mr Justice Michael Quinn was told on Thursday by John Kennedy SC, for Mr Kirby, the matter had been settled. Maura McNally SC appeared for the defendants.
When the case was entered into the Commercial Court last year Mr Kirby, in an affidavit, said he uncovered what he said were large sums being passed through company bank accounts which were often then transferred immediately or very quickly out of those accounts to other parties, in particular to a related corporate entity in the UK.
While large amounts of money flowed through the company bank accounts relating to the sale and purchase of the high-end cars, there were no books and records proving the vehicles were ever actually imported or exported, Mr Kirby said. There was a “wholesale absence” of almost any records while they were directors, he says.
The Revenue Commissioners, said Mr Kirby, undertook audits of the company’s affairs and discovered serious non-compliance with tax and duty obligations, and raised assessments against the company for €2 million. While the Sherlocks submitted an appeal against the assessment, they never substantiated their appeal, the liquidator said.