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Gardaí is examining an allegation that a former judge received a bribe in connection with a court case.
The accusation is under investigation by the Garda National Office for Economic Crimes following a complaint from one of the parties involved in a civil case.
They alleged that the judge received a financial incentive from one of the parties they were suing in the matter at the time the case became known.
The judge is said to have subsequently made decisions against the party who filed the bribery complaint.
The incentive is alleged to have amounted to tens of thousands of euros.
The indictment relates to a landmark case and the judge involved is now retired.
The judge at the center of the accusations had a long and distinguished career and denies wrongdoing.
Officers first received a complaint in late 2018 and have looked into the matter for the past year.
Gardaí is understood to have reached out to several potential witnesses, but the complaint is still under evaluation.
You have not been given criminal investigation status and you have not been assigned a Pulse number.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the assessment has been prolonged due to the difficulties posed by the pandemic.
The interview of possible witnesses has not yet concluded.
A decision will be made on whether a formal investigation is warranted after the evaluation is complete.
It is understood that, to date, the evaluation has revealed no evidence to suggest that the judge committed any crime.
The complainant has expressed his concern to gardaí about the progress of the evaluation, through his lawyers.
However, gardaí has provided assurances that the matter is receiving constant attention.
It is the second time in recent years that serious criminal charges have been brought against a member of the judiciary.
Two years ago, two women filed complaints against a judge. One claimed that the judge sexually assaulted her after they met at a book presentation at a hotel.
The second woman alleged that the judge abused his powers by inappropriately and repeatedly contacting her after she appeared in court to request a restraining order against her husband.
She stated that the judge contacted her by text message and by phone, expressing his desire to meet her and describing her as “very beautiful.”
The two criminal complaints were filed separately and the two women are not related to each other.
None of the complaints resulted in criminal charges.
Subsequently, both women complained about the Garda investigations to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
The commission acquitted Gardaí of any irregularity in handling the first case.
A decision is still awaited regarding the processing of the second complaint.
In the second case, the woman claimed that she was not asked to testify until three months after her initial complaint.
She claimed that this only happened after a journalist sent an inquiry to the Garda Press Office.
Irish independent
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