Kevin Phelan linked to financial investigation in Ireland

Kevin Phelan is a businessman who became a prominent figure in a significant investigation known as the Moriarty tribunal. This tribunal looked into financial connections between politician Michael Lowry and businessman Denis O'Brien. In the late 1990s, Lowry hired Phelan for real estate transactions in Cheadle and Mansfield. However, the tribunal stated that O'Brien was not involved in these specific deals. At the same time, Phelan was part of a larger transaction involving the purchase of Doncaster Rovers Football Club, which the tribunal determined was entirely linked to O'Brien. The investigation faced challenges, as the tribunal mentioned attempts to hide connections between Lowry and O’Brien regarding these land deals. While Lowry was found to have been involved in the Doncaster deal, the tribunal could not establish the exact nature of his involvement due to misleading information. During the inquiry, Phelan received substantial payments from both O'Brien and Lowry. For instance, Lowry paid Phelan £65,000 in 2002 as fees. That same year, O'Brien's company paid Phelan £150,000 for fees related to the Doncaster deal. The tribunal's report from 2011 indicated that O'Brien had supported the Mansfield and Cheadle deals, with ties to Lowry's role as a communications minister when O'Brien's consortium won a government mobile phone license. Both Lowry and O’Brien denied these findings. Phelan's connections to Lowry resurfaced in 2013 with the release of secret recordings between the two. These tapes revealed that Lowry had made an additional payment to Phelan, which had not been reported at the time. In the recording, Lowry pleaded with Phelan not to link the payment to the Doncaster deal. Following the tape's publication, tax authorities raided Lowry's home, leading to a guilty verdict for tax offenses. O'Brien remains the owner of Doncaster Rovers, although the club has since moved from its original grounds. In 2013, Phelan was reportedly involved in efforts to acquire the soccer club. Lowry continued to fight legal battles regarding tax offenses in subsequent years.