The Sunday World has apologised and agreed to pay undisclosed damages to a bank worker in a settlement of a legal action over an article about a €7.6m tiger kidnapping in Dublin.

In an apology read to the court, the newspaper accepted Bank of Ireland employee Shane Travers was a "wholly innocent victim" of the 2009 heist.

It also accepted he was subject to a "terrifying ordeal" when he and his then girlfriend Stephanie Smith's family were apprehended by a violent criminal gang.

The damages are understood to be substantial.

Mr Travers, 31, had sued Sunday Newspapers Ltd, publishers of the Sunday World over alleged defamation in a January 2010 article.

The article was headlined: "€7.6m heist 'was nothing to do with me'" with a sub-heading: "But gardaí still convinced kidnap gang had inside info on bank stash".

The paper had denied it defamed Mr Travers in the article.

The article was published within hours of Mr Travers' release without charge on 30 January 2010 after being questioned by gardaí for 48 hours about the heist at the Bank of Ireland cash centre at College Green in February 2009.

The article was accompanied by photos of Mr Travers standing beside a Ferrari and Bentley, which the court was told were taken when he and Ms Smith were on holiday in Spain prior to the heist.

Mr Travers remains a paid employee of the bank but has been incapable of returning to work since the heist, he told the jury.

The case opened last week and evidence on behalf of Mr Travers concluded on Friday. The newspaper did not call evidence today and it was announced the case was settled this afternoon.

In its apology read to the court, the newspaper said it "unreservedly accepts that Shane Travers did not participate in any way whatsoever in this serious crime".

It continued that Mr Travers "was a wholly innocent victim of the tiger kidnappers who was subject to a terrifying ordeal when he and his then girlfriend's family were apprehended by a violent criminal gang".

The newspaper apologised to Mr Travers for the article and said it has agreed to pay damages for damage and distress caused to him and his family.