An Irish man who was jailed in Sweden for his role in a €4.7 million income tax fraud is now wanted for fleeing the country with almost two years of his jail term not yet served, the High Court heard on Wednesday.

John O’Connor (40) from Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, and his brothers were convicted of tax and VAT fraud and money laundering in Stockholm last March. He was also convicted of three counts of “gross accounting offences”.

O’Connor and three of his brothers, Edward (27), Mark (30) and James (28) were all sentenced to three years and eight months in prison by the Stockholm district court.

The four brothers appealed the sentences, which were upheld by a Court of Appeal judgment in July 2021.

On Wednesday, at an extradition hearing in the High Court, Lisa Dempsey, prosecuting, told Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo that O’Connor had been convicted of 14 tax fraud and accounting offences.

Dempsey said that in 2018, 2019 and 2020, unreported income of €4.7 million had passed through company accounts associated with O’Connor and his brothers.

Dempsey said O’Connor was also being sought for failing to pay more than €64,000 in VAT invoices to customers who the company claimed had accessed private accounts associated with the O’Connors during the same period.

Dempsey said the case involved “joint enterprise and collusion” regarding the laundering of proceeds of crime.

The lawyer said O’Connor was convicted of three accounting offences, 10 VAT and tax offenses and one count of money laundering.

As for the accounting offences, Dempsey said there was an attempt to hide the “very significant” money coming into the company’s accounts through a “deliberate disregard” of mandatory accounting rules.

She said the O’Connors tried to hide the true nature of the crimes by not filing returns. She said the O’Connors “hid and kept the treasure to themselves”.

Dempsey said incorrect VAT invoices were also sent to customers in a fraud operation where the money was also deposited into private accounts rather than business accounts.

Counsel said O’Connor had served 647 days of his sentence before fleeing to Ireland in July 2022 when he was paroled. He was arrested under a Schengen Information Service (SIS) notice here on September 3, 2022.

Laurence Masterson, defending, said there was a question of clarity in the three accounting offenses his client had been convicted of.

Mr Masterson said there was also a question about the extent of O’Connor’s involvement in the crime.

The lawyer said the Swedish authorities had not identified the accounting offenses directly linked to the money laundering and tax offenses as worded in the European Arrest Warrant.

The lawyer said that a letter should be sent to clarify whether the accounts were separate, legal violations.

Mr Masterson said a “nexus” needed to be established between the three breaches of the duty to account and the remaining offences.

The lawyer also said “the sums don’t quite add up” regarding the VAT fraud.

Mr Justice Naidoo said he would have to be satisfied the three accounting offenses were in the context of a criminal enterprise and said Masterson suggested the accounting offenses were unrelated to income tax and VAT fraud.

Mr Masterson said that due to his family circumstances, O’Connor’s “presence was much needed by the family”, which could constitute a breach of his human rights under Section 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Minister of Justice Naidoo postpones the case until January 20, 2023 to allow time for clarification from the Swedish authorities regarding the nature of the accounting crimes.