DUBLIN -- A Dublin judge has ruled that a senior Irish Republican Army veteran wanted in the United States over alleged links to a North Korean counterfeiting plot should not be extradited.

Sean Garland has been fighting extradition from the Republic of Ireland since his Dublin arrest in 2009. He previously absconded on bail from the British territory of Northern Ireland when facing extradition on the same charges in 2005.

High Court Justice John Edwards said Wednesday that he will explain his reasons for refusing the U.S. extradition request Jan. 13.

A U.S. Justice Department indictment accuses Garland, 77, of circulating North Korean forgeries of American $100 bills in the 1990s in cooperation with the Russian Communist Party and British criminal contacts. Garland denies the accusation.