A Dublin civil servant accused of leaking sensitive government information to a “hostile” foreign power has been denied bail in the High Court.
Yevgen McKeeffe, aged 46, originally from Ukraine but holding Irish citizenship, had been arrested at the departures area of Dublin Airport on 28 May as he was attempting to leave the country, carrying €5,650 and a one-way ticket, reports Breaking News.
Delivering his ruling at the High Court in Cloverhill, Judge Patrick McGrath noted “what can only be described as alarming evidence of activities and access to detailed information in a government department.”
He said: “The nature of the evidence really does cause considerable alarm to the court, and it should give pause for thought to those who, perhaps out of a sense of naivety, do not consider that this country is under any form of risk of interference at the hands of a malevolent foreign nation,” reports Breaking News.
He added: “They should only listen to the evidence garnered by the gardaÃ, and it will call into question any naive assumptions that they have as to this country not facing threats similar to those faced by other democracies in Europe.”
He stressed that the IT worker, who had lived in Ireland for 24 years and changed his name by deed poll, was entitled to the presumption of innocence, reports Breaking News.
Still, he said the evidence gathered was extensive and comprehensive, describing the allegations as of “the most serious kind.”
Following an investigation by the Garda Special Detective Unit, McKeeffe was charged under Section 9 of the Theft and Fraud Offences Act for the unlawful use of a computer, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence on conviction, reports Breaking News.
Two days after his arrest, he was denied bail in the District Court, leading to an appeal to the High Court.
Judge McGrath imposed reporting restrictions preventing journalists from revealing Mr McKeeffe’s address in Dublin, the specific government department in which he worked, the overseas country involved in the case, or the information allegedly disclosed, reports Breaking News.
Defence barrister Aisling Ginger-Quinn said her client denies the charge and the case will go to trial, as she pleaded for bail with a range of conditions supported by the offer of a €20,000 independent surety.
However, SDU Detective Sergeant Shay Palmer told the judge that no bail terms would alleviate his concerns that the accused, who has used five identities, could reoffend or that he posed a flight risk, reports Breaking News.
Detective Sergeant Palmer agreed with Nicola Cox BL for the State that Mr McKeeffe had worked in his latest position since 2022 and had, before that, been in another government department since 2016.
He remains suspended from work pending the case, reports Breaking News.
The Detective Sergeant said the SDU opened an intelligence-led investigation that led to Mr McKeeffe’s arrest as he was about to fly to Turkey.
He said it was alleged the man was then to proceed “on to his final destination where he would meet with his contact and share confidential information which had the potential of creating risk to the Irish State,” reports Breaking News.
The contested bail hearing was told that he had previously travelled out of the country in 2025 under his current name but had used another name on an earlier flight.
The court heard gardaà seized electronic devices and documents during a search of his home, with his workplace also examined and his desktop computer seized, with gardaà accessing his work system and downloading an audit log, reports Breaking News.
It was claimed that he subsequently sent information in the form of documents, pictures or videos to a handler in a foreign jurisdiction via the Telegram app on his mobile phone.
Detective Sergeant Palmer said Mr McKeeffe received payments in a foreign currency equivalent to €250 to €260 for his efforts, which were lodged into his mother’s account, reports Breaking News.
He added that, given the nature of the country involved, it would not be possible to determine whether he received further sums in that nation.
The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau has examined his mobile phone, reports Breaking News.
The court heard he had signed the Official Secrets Act when he commenced his employment.
Detective Sergeant Palmer also raised significant flight risk concerns, accepting McKeeffe held Irish citizenship but countering that he had no familial ties to Ireland, and while he had a mortgage it had been partly paid with assistance and loans from friends, reports Breaking News.
The court heard that the accused, who came to Ireland because he was homosexual and faced discrimination before coming here, had used four other variations of his name and held an Irish passport and two other non-Irish travel documents.
Ginger-Quinn argued that her client had no prior criminal convictions, had not returned to his home country for 16 or 17 years until 2025 when he visited family, and had ties to Ireland through his job, friends and a mortgage, reports Breaking News.
However, the judge held that the State had established its grounds for denying bail, reports Breaking News.
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