RTÉ’s Brian Ormond has been linked to former criminal Martin ‘The Viper’ Foley because of an alleged €40,000 debt.

Apparently, the TV star had invested a female friend's savings into an oil deal, but the scheme was unsuccessful. It was then reported that he’d been avoiding calls from this friend for months, so she decided to ask a debt recovery firm to call out to Brian’s home.

It has been reported that he did meet with Foley on one occasion to ‘clarify’ his financial position, but he never handed over any money. He says he is “hurt and upset” over the allegations:

“There is no lady, there is no oil deal and I have never given a cent to Martin Foley, nor have I ever entered into an agreement with him.”

Brian’s lawyer Gerald Kean says the story is “misleading”:

“It suggests Brian owes a debt to somebody and that is not the case, he does not owe the money that is alleged.

“He was never involved in any money transaction involving a lady – he was never involved with a lady or any oil business.

“He never agreed to pay any money back to anybody, nor has he made any payment to Foley. He just met him once to clarify his position.

“He never agreed to pay any money back to anybody nor is he being sued by anybody.”

We really hope that’s the truth for Brian’s sake – we wouldn’t want to have any dealings with anyone called ‘The Viper’!