An accountant yesterday pleaded guilty to three charges of failing to co-operate with an authorised officer under section 19 of the Companies Act 1990.
Declan Long was fined £200 (€254) on each charge by Judge Thomas Fitzpatrick at Naas District Court. He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
Long is auditor of Faxhill Homes, the Kildare building firm which worked on the homes of Mr Ben Dunne and former minister Mr Michael Lowry.
He was prosecuted by the Tβnaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
He faced two charges under sections 19 and 194 of the Companies Act 1990, which deal respectively with producing books to an authorised officer and the obligations of an auditor in cases where proper books of account are not being kept.
Long pleaded guilty to the charges of failing to produce books to an authorised officer on August 24th 1998, September 3rd 1998 and September 25th 1998. However, the summons under section 194, which covers circumstances in which an auditor must notify the Register of Companies that proper books of account are not being kept - plus a second summons relating to failure to produce books to an authorised officer on September 17th, 1998 - were struck out.
Mr George Maloney, an authorised officer at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, told the court that in his investigation into Faxhill Homes, he had been directed towards the auditors for documentation he had been seeking.
He said he had written a letter to Long on August 24th, 1998 in which he set out details of the documentation he required but received no response. A follow-up letter was sent on September 3rd, 1998, which was intended as a reminder letter to Long to respond, and which also sought clarification of information already received from the directors of Faxhill Homes, Mr Maloney said.
A response was received from Long on September 16th, 1998 which provided some, but not all of the documentation requested, Mr Maloney said.
The court heard that a meeting was held between Mr Maloney and the auditor and directors of Faxhill Homes in Newbridge on September 17th, 1998 in which the auditor undertook to provide the necessary information. But Mr Maloney said there was no immediate response from Long and that another letter, intended as a follow-on from the meeting, was sent to Long on September 25th, 1998.
Mr Maloney said he received a response on October 6th 1998 which enclosed some, but not all, of the documentation requested.
He said he had requested copies of all financial statements from 1986 to 1997, but that he did not receive statements for the year to December 31st, 1997.
He said he eventually received a set of draft financial statements for this year. Mr Maloney also said that letters of representation were requested for the years 1986 to 1997, but that he received such documentation for three years only - 1994, 1995 and 1996.
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