Crime boss John Gilligan's daughter insists 'I'm not a criminal' as she wins case against CAB

Tracey Gilligan claimed in High Court proceedings that her social welfare applications were refused after the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) unlawfully intervened

A daughter of crime boss John Gilligan has won her case against the Criminal Assets Bureau and Department of Social Protection and told this paper: “I’m not a criminal.”

Tracey Gilligan, a daughter of infamous crime boss John Gilligan, claimed in High Court proceedings that her social welfare applications were refused after the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) unlawfully intervened.

She had issued High Court proceedings over the refusals, and on Thursday a judicial review found that there had been confusion over the law in this case and that Ms Gilligan had been incorrectly informed about how to appeal the issue.

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Mr Justice Garrett Simons found that it was “entirely reasonable and proper” for Ms Gilligan, who claimed she had no involvement in criminality and was seeking disability allowance, to invoke a revision of the procedure last year and said he could appreciate the “human aspect of this.”

He also acknowledged that Ms Gilligan had stated that this case had “caused her a lot of stress.” Judge Simons said in this case there had been confusion as to whether someone had the right to appeal to the Chief Appeals Officer - and the blame, if any, was “more on the CAB side of the house.”

The Judge said that Ms Gilligan had been “incorrectly” informed that she had a “right of appeal which she didn’t have” with the Chief Appeals Officer, and he stated that that was “blatantly unfair.”

It took several months, he said, for the Bureau to correct itself, in which time he said both parties in the case “were operating on a fundamental mistake of the law,” and the issue ended up in this week’s judicial review.

Judge Simons added that for the State to say someone is engaged in criminal conduct or that they constitute a threat is also a “very serious thing…that could not be met lightly.”

He stated that no explanation had been given by the Department of Social Protection as to how Ms Gilligan made an application to appeal what had occurred and it ending up being transferred over to the CAB.

Judge Simons says an affidavit filed in the case does not explain what happened and said that if someone is being accused of criminal conduct or being a threat, “that has to be explained and there should be a basis for it.”

He said he did not wish to attribute any malice on the CAB and that it was just unfortunate in this case that the CAB were given incorrect information in relation to the procedure.

The case, he said, can be decided on the interpretation of Section 5 of the CAB Act which provides that an application can be “sent down the CAB route” at the request of the Minister for Social Welfare to investigate and determine the course of action.

The Judge stated it was not open to the CAB under the law to investigate whether someone may be subject to threats or intimidation in this case and that the Minister must certify an investigation when claims of this nature occur - something he said “never happened here.”

Judge Simons put the matter back for two weeks to allow time for a written copy of his judgement to be furnished. He further stated that he would then discuss “what the best thing to be done is” and said he would also deal with the issue of costs then.

Approached by this paper following the decision, Ms Gilligan initially told us she had no comment to make before saying: “I shouldn’t have to have been here in the first place.” She further added: “I’m not a criminal.”

Tracey’s infamous father (71) was one of Ireland’s biggest importers of drugs - and ran a gang which murdered crime journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996. Gilligan was charged with her murder but was acquitted and served a lengthy prison sentence for drug charges.

Ms Gilligan had claimed in the High Court that her disability and supplementary welfare allowance claims were referred to the Cab under its statutory remit. She was told her applications would be refused unless she explained all personal bank transactions and details of properties she owns.

She told a social welfare bureau officer her non-residential bank account in Spain was in negative balance and said a €30,000 cash withdrawal was paid to her daughter. Cash lodgements into her account were maintenance from the father of one of her children, she told the officer.

Ms Gilligan’s legal papers included two High Court judgments from a 2011 case concerning nine properties the Cab suspected of being purchased with crime proceeds. She co-owned one of the properties so was named in the proceedings, but she submitted she believed the property was bought with legitimate income.

The judge, in that case, held that money Ms Gilligan contributed to the property was not the proceeds of crime and should be reimbursed to her.

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