‘It’s time to let innocent Irish dad return home’
MEPs plead with China to ‘free’ Dublin businessman – two years on
IRISH MEPs have issued a fresh appeal to the Chinese government to free a Dublin businessman who has been held in the country for two years.
Richard O’Halloran, 45, was banned from leaving China due to a fraud investigation into the air leasing company he is a director of.
Mr O’Halloran, from Foxrock, has never been accused of any wrongdoing, but Chinese authorities have taken his passport as part of the investigation. He has been living in an apartment in Shanghai since March 2019.
Irish MEPs in Brussels have now called on the Chinese government to free the businessman and allow him to come home.
Speaking in the EU Parliament on Thursday, Fine Gael’s Seán Kelly and Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews stressed that the father of four has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
‘He has been refused permission
‘He was just unfortunate’
to leave China since March 2019,’ Mr Kelly said.
‘Richard has not been arrested, charged or personally accused of any wrongdoing.
‘He was just unfortunate enough to be caught up in an investigation into another individual who he had never met during the period in which the investigation is focused.
‘I would call on the Chinese government to allow Mr O’Halloran [to] come home as there is no legitimate reason for him to be kept against his will.’
Mr O’Halloran is a director of China International Aviation Leasing Services (CALS) and has been detained due to his links with Chinese businessman Min Jiedong, the company’s owner.
Mr Min was arrested in July 2018 during an investigation into a crowd-fundraising scheme he operated. He was later convicted in a Chinese court of fundraising fraud and illegal acceptance of public deposits.
Mr O’Halloran travelled to China in February 2019 to meet with investors of the company after Mr Min’s arrest. When he attempted to leave the country to return to Dublin, he was arrested at the airport and subsequently banned from leaving China.
His wife, Tara, has previously said that the couple’s four children are devastated by their father’s absence.
She admitted that she does not know when or if her husband will ever return to Ireland.
‘The kids are absolutely heartbroken,’ Mrs O’Halloran said.
‘Their dad has literally been taken away from them and they can’t understand it. They are amazing kids, I am so proud of them because it’s been the hardest thing for them to deal with.
She added: ‘It’s very difficult for them to understand because as far as they are concerned, he might never come back and I can’t guarantee that he will.’
Mrs O’Halloran previously begged the Irish Government to intervene as she argued that ‘the life of an innocent Irish man should not be secondary to commercial agreements’.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs told the Irish Daily Mail that it ‘attaches the utmost importance to Mr O’Halloran’s welfare and continues to provide all possible consular support and assistance’.
‘It’s been the hardest thing’
They added: ‘Minister [Simon] Coveney remains actively and personally engaged, and our senior officials in Dublin, Beijing and Shanghai continue to do everything possible to ensure that Mr O’Halloran can return home.’
They said it would be ‘inappropriate’ to comment further.
The Irish Daily Mail has also contacted the Chinese Embassy in Dublin for comment.