The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is considering new organised crime charges against gangland figure Gerry Hutch in relation to alleged widespread Garda corruption.
A file has been submitted to the director on Mr Hutch and a group of former and serving gardaí following the largest anti-corruption investigation in the history of the force.
The Irish Times has learned the extensive file was submitted last year, before Mr Hutch’s candidacy in the November general election which saw him narrowly miss out on the Dáil seat.
The DPP is expected to decide shortly what, if any, charges Mr Hutch should face in the Irish courts.
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A long-running Garda investigation found evidence former superintendent John Murphy allegedly leaked highly sensitive intelligence to the Hutch organised crime group and other serious criminals.
Organised crime and corruption charges are being considered against Murphy, Mr Hutch and two serving gardaí.
Mr Hutch is suspected of helping to run a criminal organisation, an offence which carries a potential life sentence. Murphy is suspected of “enhancing the ability of a criminal organisation to commit or facilitate a serious offence” which carries a maximum term of five years.
The serving gardaí, who are currently suspended, may face corruption charges. Under Irish law it is an offence to both give and receive an inducement to engage in corruption relating to an official role.
The Criminal Assets Bureau previously submitted to the High Court that Mr Hutch was the leader of the “the Hutch organised crime group”. Mr Hutch has repeatedly stated he is not involved in crime.
[ ‘This is a bit of craic’: Why Dublin Central voted for Gerry HutchOpens in new window ]
The case is separate from an investigation by Spanish police that Mr Hutch used his properties in Lanzarote to engage in large-scale money laundering.
Mr Hutch, who was once considered the State’s most prolific bank robber and who played a key role in the Hutch-Kinahan feud, is currently on bail in relation to the money laundering investigation after a Spanish court released him last November to pursue his unsuccessful general election run.
The DPP is expected to reach a decision on potential charges in Ireland early this year. The broad investigation, which was carried out by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) under the guidance of the force’s anti-corruption unit, uncovered evidence that extremely sensitive information was being leaked to gangland criminals.
This includes information allegedly leaked by a member of a specialised Garda unit which has access to sensitive information, including intelligence passed on from other police forces.
Murphy, who retired from the Garda in 2012, is suspected of having long-standing relationships with serious criminals which began when he cultivated offenders as confidential Garda sources.
Investigators believe these relationships continued after he left the force.
He allegedly received information from serving gardaí which he then passed on to gangland figures. One line of investigation pursued by the NBCI was that in 2021, Mr Hutch was tipped-off that an international warrant had been issued for his arrest in relation to allegations he was behind the 2016 Regency Hotel attack.
The alleged tip-off allowed Mr Hutch to evade authorities for several months before his eventual arrest in Spain in 2021.
Shortly after Mr Hutch’s arrest in Spain, NBCI detectives raided Murphy’s Clontarf home in September 2021 to search for evidence in relation to the alleged corruption. While there, officers were surprised to find €260,000 worth of cannabis hidden throughout the property.
Murphy quickly pleaded guilty to drug offences and in 2022 received a 6½ year sentence. In 2023, he was arrested while in prison by NBCI detectives and questioned over his links to Mr Hutch and other criminals.
By that stage Mr Hutch had also been taken from prison under warrant by gardaí and questioned over his role in the alleged corruption. The arrest occurred shortly before his trial in relation to the Regency attack which ended in his acquittal in 2023.
The Irish Times contacted Mr Hutch for comment on Sunday but received no response.
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