According to Saturday's edition of The Times, British financial
investigators believe that the property empire built up by the IRA's
chief of staff Thomas Murphy extends from Britain and Ireland into the
economies of Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic. Mr Murphy
who has amassed a personal fortune estimated at 40 million pounds
mainly from cross-border smuggling, is alleged to have begun laundering
his money by investing in property and legitimate businesses in
Bulgaria, Spain, Slovenia and also the Czech capital Prague.