Vodafone entitled to damages from ex-financial services chief

VODAFONE IS entitled to damages from a former head of its corporate financial services division after he failed to defend claims of being involved in the fraudulent requisitioning of €2.3 million worth of services on behalf of the firm, the Commercial Court ruled.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly granted an application by Vodafone for judgment against Niall Barron in default of his entering a defence.

An assessment of damages due to Vodafone from Mr Barron will be made following a hearing next December of the company’s claims against other persons arising from the alleged fraud.

Vodafone said the alleged fraud has been investigated by gardaí since February 2007 but, as there was no indication how long that investigation would take, it had decided to bring the Commercial Court proceedings in an effort to recover the monies. Vodafone claims it suffered losses of some €2.3 million as a result of the alleged fraud. It claimed Niall Barron, with an address at Clonattin Village, Gorey, Co Wexford, and also with addresses in Kilkenny and in England, enriched himself by buying services on behalf of Vodafone which were never or inadequately provided.

It is claimed he ordered some of the services – for which invoices were not provided – on behalf of a company called Tel-Q Ltd, of which he is the owner and which is registered in the south Pacific island of Vanuatu. He also allegedly purchased services from Fusion TV Ltd, Elmsborough Rise, Kiltipper Road, Dublin, which traded under the names Universal Sound and Picture and from a now dissolved company called Chess Business Consultancy Ltd, Greenogue Business Park, Dublin.

Vodafone claims the directors of Fusion and Chess were husband and wife David McGovern and Elaine Dixon, both of Burrow Manor, Colverstown, Kilcullen, Kildare. It is claimed they also carried on business under the trading name Consul-Tech which also allegedly received requisitions from Mr Barron for services not provided.

Vodafone initiated proceedings against Mr Barron, the couple and Fusion earlier this year. It is alleged Fusion, Universal and Chess, with the assistance of Mr Barron, all defrauded Vodafone from 2002 by issuing invoices and being paid for services which were not provided at all or were provided by a different company and/or at an inflated price.