Cooper-Flynn denies helping father evade tax

Ms Beverly Cooper Flynn has denied in a statement to the Dáil that she helped her father evade tax.

Her statement followed days of media speculation that she had helped former minister Mr Pádraig Flynn avoid tax by lodging a £50,000 cheque from a developer in a bogus offshore account.

The media reports suggested that while a financial advisor with National Irish Bank, she set up offshore investments designed to evade tax on her father's behalf.

The allegations centre around a cheque allegedly given to Mr Flynn by developer Mr Tom Gilmartin in 1989.

Last Friday, a TV3 report claimed Ms Cooper-Flynn lodged the money in a non-resident bank account in the name of Mr Flynn and his wife Dorothy. The report went on to say that half of that money was subsequently invested offshore, on the advice of Ms Cooper-Flynn.

Speaking in the Dáil tonight, the Mayo TD refuted wrongdoing, saying she had fulfilled all her legal and ethical obligations in relation to the investments.

Ms Cooper Flynn left the bank when she was elected to the Dáil in 1997 -  succeeding her father in the constituency.

She said her parents at all times were the sole owners of the account. "I did not own the funds invested. I did not personally benefit from the investments, nor from the proceeds of the investment made by my parents.

"I did not set up a bogus non-resident account.

"I did not in any way engage in or assist tax evasion, as has been alleged, and the allegations that have been made about me personally to this effect in recent days are false and unfounded."

She also complained of not being offered an opportunity to comment on the original report.

She confirmed that she made three investments valued at £25,000 on behalf of her father and her mother, Dorothy, in 1989. "All were legal investments, then and now," she said.

Mr Flynn was advised that reporting of the proceeds of the investment for tax purposes was the responsibility of the account holder rather than the bank, she said.

Her name was included on the accounts to speed up "any alterations of the investment down the line that my parents might request".

"I had no beneficial interest in them at any time," she continued.

She assisted with further investments between 1990 and 1994 and when encashed her name was on the cheque, she told the Dáil. Again she reiterated she had no beneficial interest.

"All of the proceeds of such investment were lodged in a National Irish Bank non-resident deposit account in the names of Padraig and Dorothy Flynn and the address on that account was: Avenue Jules Cesare 17, Brussels 1150, my parents' then address in Belgium," she said.

"In conclusion, in my capacity as an employee of National Irish Bank I believe that I fulfilled all my legal and ethical obligations in relation to these investments."