Former Irish international and Liverpool star Mark Kennedy ‘paid €60k winnings’ to CAB target

High Court told organised crime group used horses, greyhounds and cars to launder piles of cash

Kennedy (right) at the height of his career, with ex-teammate Robbie Keane

A man alleged to be a member of an organised crime gang said he made his money from dogs, horses and gambling including bets placed by an Irish soccer international.

Anthony O’Sullivan told the High Court that former Irish international and Liverpool winger Mark Kennedy paid him €61,000 in winnings, while another €58,000 came from a horse bought by the then Arsenal chairman ‘Chips’ Keswick.

O’Sullivan is being targeted by the Criminal Assest Bureau (CAB) who say he is part of a west Dublin gang that used racehorses, greyhounds and the motor trade to launder money.

One officer stated in evidence that he believed him to be “extremely intelligent and involved in the planning and masterminding of major crimes”.

But O’Sullivan strongly denies being a criminal and said he is the victim of Garda character assassination.

Boylan and O’Sullivan celebrating Labaik’s big 25-1 win

He maintains that large lodgements to a bank account came from legitimate sources as a professional gambler, horse breeder and greyhound owner.

In an affidavit filed with the High Court he said: “Over the period 2010 and 2011 I received winnings from Mark Kennedy, a former Irish international soccer player who allowed me to use his betting accounts and who placed bets on your deponent’s behalf, this was in the approximate sum of €61,000.”

There was no further details of what bets were placed or why he was using another person’s online betting account.

There is no suggestion Mark Kennedy has any involvement in criminality or that he has any knowledge of Anthony O’Sullivan’s claims.

Kennedy (right) at the height of his career, with ex-teammate Robbie Keane

The Sunday World contacted Mark Kennedy’s agent this week in relation to the claims, however, no comment had been forthcoming at the time of going to print.

At the time of the alleged bets, 34-cap international Mark Kennedy was still playing professional football with Cardiff and Ipswich Town.

Originally from Clonsilla, Kennedy had played three seasons at Liverpool, setting a record for the most expensive teenage football transfer at the time.

Kennedy was famously booted out of the Ireland squad in 2000, along with team-mate Phil Babb, after both players pleaded guilty to damaging a Garda car in Dublin following a drunken night out.

The incident happened ahead of a World Cup qualifier away to Holland, with then mananger Mick McCarthy sending the pair home.

Anthony O’Sullivan refuted CAB’s claims about his income

Following his retirement from playing, Kennedy had spells as manager of Lincoln City, Macclesfield and Swindon Town.

O’Sullivan’s evidence came in response to a forensic financial report compiled by CAB, which found there were significant sums of money from “unknown sources”.

CAB’s forensic accountant stated the lodgement was among a series “not included as legitimate income as it is not known what they relate to and there is nothing to substantiate their source”.

Another transaction found by the Bureau came from the sale of racehorses at Goffs, according to O’Sullivan.

“I say that Crown Theatre (gelding) and Queens Well (filly) were sold to Sir John Chippendale ‘Chips’ Lindley Keswick, a British merchant banker who purchased both horses for approx stg£50,000 each.”

CAB’s accountant said that O’Sullivan was listed as 100 per cent owner in documentation from Goffs in the sale of Queens Well.

But Revenue had no record of him being involved in the sale and purchase of horses at the time, it was stated.

“It is not known how or when the respondent acquired the horse” and as a result the “lodgement is also deemed to arise from unknown sources of income”.

CAB is targeting two properties: a house at 51 Ashwood Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, bought in 2000, and second house later built on the same site.

Their case is that there were unexplained funds of €665,035 spent on the two properties and are seeking to have them declared the proceeds of crime.

In his own replying affidavit, O’Sullivan challenged CAB evidence, including the estimate of the money spent on the houses by a quantity surveyor.

Kennedy as manager of Swindon Town

Money used to buy and refurbish his house he said also came from family, including from a UK lottery win via the wife of his brother Jason O’Sullivan.

The investigation began after his house was searched by gardaí days after he appeared in the winner’s enclosure at Cheltenham with convicted drug dealer John Boylan in 2017.

The horse Labaik, trained by Gordon Elliott, had pulled off an unexpected but hugely popular 25-1 win at the UK racing festival.

Boylan, also known as John Power, was later named as the target of a Proceeds of Crime action which would include Labaik being effectively seized by CAB.

CAB’s investigation into O’Sullivan’s gambling found that, between 2007 and 2017, he placed €1,364,436 in bets via monitored retail accounts which they said was at a time when he “no recorded income” with Revenue.

Overall there was a total profit from the bets of €2,858, according to the Bureau’s figures and estimated that he had to have put in €82,000 “from an unknown source to sustain his gambling activities.”

O’Sullivan stated that he categorically denies the allegations of criminality and described some of the evidence as “pernicious” and “knowingly false”.

Chief Bureau officer Chief Superintendent Michael Gubbins said in an affidavit that O’Sullivan’s sworn affidavit did not contain anything to change his belief of his criminality.

He said O’Sullivan “does not engage with the Bureau’s case to any great extent, many of his averments being of general nature and lacking any backup or independent verification”.

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