O'Brien integrity queried at talks

Mr Arve Johannsen of Telenor questioned the integrity of Mr Denis O'Brien, Mr Dermot Desmond and Mr Desmond's company, IIU Ltd, during a meeting in Dublin in May 1996, the tribunal was told.

Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, said a letter from Mr O'Brien to Mr Johannsen referred to the comments allegedly made by Mr Johannsen during a meeting in the offices of Matheson Ormsby Prentice, the solicitors for Telenor. Mr O'Brien described the Telenor executive's comments as "outrageous and totally unacceptable".

In his letter, Mr O'Brien quoted Mr Johannsen as having said during a meeting: "There would not have been a licence without Denis O'Brien".

Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, said divisions within the consortium seemed to originate from a "row" over Mr O'Brien seeking to increase his shareholding in the consortium above that of Telenor. Mr O'Brien was hoping to sell Esat Telecom shares via Crédit Suisse First Boston and said he needed to increase Esat Telecom's shareholding in Esat Digifone to satisfy potential investors. He said there may have been serious issues concerning Esat Telecom's ability to fund its part of the Digifone consortium.

The tribunal heard of meetings on May 11th, 1996, between Mr O'Brien and Mr Dermot Desmond and Mr O'Brien and Mr Michael Walsh of IIU Ltd. The men discussed possible share transactions involving IIU and Esat Telecom.

According to a note of Mr O'Brien's, Mr Desmond requested at one stage that no "pieces of paper" be produced, and it was said that Mr Desmond would have to be trusted. Mr O'Brien sought a record of what Mr Desmond had said as Mr Desmond "sometimes spoke very fast".