New RT Documentary Michael Lynn: The Fugitive asks Where did the money go?

06/01/2025

Documentary series reveals Michael Lynn's wife withdrawing cash from bank accounts by Bulgarian business associate of his, during trial

Small individual Irish investors tell of their suffering:

Paul Ryan Retired Teacher: You'd wake up at night and suddenly it would hit you that you had lost this money for your family

Sean O'Mahony Publican: A walking conman, that's the way I would describe Michael Lynn

Watch here

One of the loose ends that still exists with the Michael Lynn story is the question of what happened with the money. Virtually none of which has been recovered. When solicitor Michael Lynn fled Ireland in December 2007, he'd clocked up 80m in loans from high street banks, much of them fraudulently secured via multiple mortgages. And he owed another 12m to private investors who had paid out for unbuilt apartments abroad.

A new two-part documentary series beginning on RT One and RT Player tonight, highlights new links involving a Bulgarian business associate of Michael Lynn's setting up companies in Ireland relating to property development, and those company accounts being accessed by Mr Lynn's wife, Brid Murphy withdrawing cash in the last year.

Michael Lynn: The Fugitive reveals the true story of an epic hunt to bring one of Ireland's most notorious fugitives to justice told directly by the reporter who tracked him down, his victims, and former employees. The two-part series is directed by Trevor Birney and produced by Fine Point Films for RT .

Irish Mail on Sunday Journalist Michael O'Farrell and photographer Sean Dwyer ended up hunting Michael Lynn down all over the world, from Portugal to Bulgaria to a hellhole prison in Brazil. Michael Lynn was facing serious questions about his fraudulent actions in Ireland when he fled to Portugal. They spotted someone tearing up documents and leaving them outside Lynn's offices in Portugal one night. When they got them back to the hotel and pieced them together, it was a treasure trove of information on Lynn. They had discovered a cache of discarded documents in Portugal which led them deeper into Lynn's labyrinth of lies.

Sean Dwyer: You couldn't have asked for a better map of how Lynn had stitched together his business over the previous 12 months and how he was planning to roll it out over the next several years.

Michael O'Farrell: I could see bank transfers and cheques being signed, 20,000 going here. I could see handwritten documents detailing 3million and 4 million worth of transfers from his client account into strange places.

The documents explained that Vantea was his new company with a new shareholding structure owned by anonymous companies in strange parts of the world that you couldn't trace. Everywhere he went, his assets were disappearing into this secret void.

The documents uncovered by Journalist Michael O'Farrell back 17 years ago are still relevant to what's happening today.

One of the names in those documents was a Bulgarian man Yavor Poptoshev. Journalist Michael O'Farrell has seen that name pop up in Slovakia on company documents with Brid Murphy (wife of Micheal Lynn), in the Seychelles, and more recently, and intriguingly, in Ireland. It was a name that only began to be connected during the trial when it was realised that Michael Lynn had moved house and the new house, according to the land registry documents, had been bought by a company associated with Mr. Poptoshev in Ireland.

When Michael O'Farrell investigated Mr. Poptoshev a little bit deeper, he learnt he has set up various other companies in Ireland, which are engaging in property developments. They appeared to be back in business. During Michael Lynn's second trial, his wife Brid Murphy was accessing those company accounts via ATM machines while he was on legal Aid. All of that is still the focus of a Garda money laundering investigation.

One year ago this week, Mr. Poptoshev was arrested during dawn raids on his house and Michael Lynn's house. Michael O'Farrell tells the RT documentary: Weeks after Michael Lynn is in prison in Ireland, we're still standing on a hillside in Brittas County Wicklow at dawn watching the guards raid his wife's house. So in some ways, it's like a story that doesn't want to die. But that's because the life of the story is what happened to the money?

Viewers will hear for the first time the recording of Michael Lynn admitting : I was on my own personal drugged up ambition, fuelled by the desire to succeed. I was the Celtic Cub. It's still the only time that we can hear Michael Lynn's voice in public, because the interview he agreed to do that day is the only interview he's ever given publicly.

16 years after he failed to show up to a special High Court hearing to be questioned about his property dealings, the former solicitor, Michael Lynn, was imprisoned in December 2023 after being convicted of stealing almost 18 million from financial institutions.

Journalist Michael O'Farrell: When Michael Lynn ran, the trail of destruction he left in his wake started to emerge pretty quickly. It was obvious that the banks had a problem, but what wasn't immediately clear was that he'd also taken millions from hundreds of ordinary people.

Paul Ryan a retired PE Teacher from Dublin paid a deposit to buy an apartment in Portugal: Michael Lynn stole roughly 60,000 from me. I didn't discuss it with my family or my daughters because I felt a terrible sense of guilt that I had lost all this money. The apartment the dream was retirement. Our family could come and visit or we can all meet. That was a dream.

What you call the legal system in the state didn't seem to have any interest in what the small person had lost in this particular aspect. It was all about banks

LINK:	https://about.rte.ie/2025/01/06/new-rte-documentary-michael-lynn-the-f...
	See more stories from rte

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026