BELFAST, Northern Ireland, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Proceeds from last week's $42 million Belfast bank robbery are suspected of being a pension fund for Irish Republican Army members, reports said Wednesday.
Based on communication intercepts following last week's daring raid in Belfast, detectives suspect the terrorist group intends to use at least part of the money as a "pension fund" for its militants, The Times of London said.
Tuesday, investigators ended forensic examinations of the homes of two Northern Bank employees whose families were held hostage during the robbery.
The homes of Chris Ward and Kevin McMullan had been preserved as crime scenes since the Dec. 20 heist. Ward is reportedly a regular patron at the Prisoners' Dependents Club, a West Belfast social club, which is frequented by former IRA prisoners.
The IRA has denied involvement in the robbery, and the chief of the group's political arm Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams has complained to the government about raids by police investigating the robbery, the BBC said.
