AFTER 16 YEARS, LYNN HAS FINALLY ENDED UP WHERE HE WAS GOING
IT’S been 16 years since I was first dispatched by the Irish Mail on Sunday to find Michael Lynn and I have stayed with the story ever since.
At the time – in early 2008 – the former solicitor had disappeared without trace. So too had as much as €80million in loans and funds belonging to clients.
Finally, after a year of hunting throughout Europe, I managed to get in front of him in Portugal and the unthinkable happened: Michael Lynn agreed to talk.
It was the beginning of an on/off dialogue that would span a decade and a half – which I detail in a new book – Fugitive: The Michael Lynn Story, out next month.
I still remember one particular moment of that first meeting vividly.
We were seated in a cafe negotiating what would become his only ever interview and I asked a simple question: ‘What do you have to say to the banks?’
‘Thank you for the money,’ came the cheeky response with a childlike grin as he raised his eyes to heaven.
He was joking of course. But it was classic Michael Lynn.
He may now be one of Ireland’s most notorious white collar criminals but he has always been goodhumoured about it.
Lynn’s cheekiness and his ability to see the funny since of life has seen him endure horrific conditions as he spent four and a half years in a Brazilian prison.
It also made him the perfect salesman.
But like all corrupt businessmen, he refused to accept that the rules the rest of us abide by should apply to him.
And when he was caught he lashed out at others, refusing to take sole responsibility.
In Lynn’s case, he blamed bankers who he said were complicit in his dodgy dealings. He even alleged he paid bribes to keep them on side. And he named names in court.
But in two lengthy trials, he never provided any proof to back this contention up. And one by one, each banker denied it.
It was the same when we’d speak after our initial interview in 2009.
Time and time again he provided me with the same names he’d later cite in court after being extradited home to face justice. But he never provided any real proof.
Had he done so – had there been any proof of the corruption he alleged – it would have been a hell of a scoop. But it was always Lynn’s word against everyone else.
There is an old Chinese saying to the effect that if you don’t change direction, you are going to end up where you’re going.
To me, Michael Lynn was like that. Since that initial interview, he remained in contact intermittently.
Out of nowhere I’d receive random Skype calls from all corners of the world.
Inevitably it would be him – full of good-natured banter, delusion and egotism.
And he remained the same same throughout his two marathon trials.
Privately he would acknowledge his wrongdoing readily but he always appeared incapable of taking responsibility without blaming others.
He also never appeared to really appreciate the consequences his actions have had on others.
He would pay lip service to this – but it never felt anywhere as impassioned as when he spoke of his own battle to stay out of prison.
Yesterday, after more than 16 years, Michael Lynn finally got where he was going.
He will be there for the next five and a half years.