Court grants bail to estate agent

The accused owns six branches of an estate agency

A leading east Belfast estate agent facing money laundering charges has been granted bail.

Lawyers for Philip Johnston, 39, of Kings Road in the east of city made the application at the High Court on Wednesday.

He is accused of four charges of money laundering, which he has denied.

He was released on his own bail of £5,000, plus two sureties of £10,000 each. He was also ordered not to leave the country without police consent.

The court ordered him to sign in at a police station twice weekly.

'Innocent of charges'

Mr Johnston owns six branches of an estate agency across Belfast for which police had applied for warrants to search.

After Wednesday's court hearing, Mr Johnston's solicitor, Paul Dougan, read a statement on his behalf.

He said: "My client would like to stress that he is guilty of absolutely no wrong-doing and is innocent of these charges.

"Indeed, he is devastated that his reputation is being challenged by what he believes are false and unsubstantiated allegations.

"He is at a loss to understand how the authorities could have got this so wrong."

He said that for "the sake of his staff and his own reputation Mr Johnston intends to prove that these allegations are totally unfounded".