MISSING investment tycoon, Mr Tony Taylor kept shareholding directors in the dark about company business, the High Court has been told.

But Mr Justice Thomas Smyth held yesterday this did not constitute grounds for the High Court waiving those directors' obligations to divulge all and anything they know about the affairs of the companies they were associated with.

"It strikes me as an extraordinary situation that someone operating in the same building as Mr Taylor for five years would not have some idea of what was going on in other companies," he said.

Mr Justice Smyth rejected an application by Mr Edward Hobbs, Summerhill House, The Curragh, Co Kildare, to be excused for lack of information from having to file a Statement of Affairs on Taylor Asset Managers Ltd (TAM) of which he had been a shareholding director.

Mr Hobbs, in an affidavit read by his counsel, Mr Richard Nesbitt, SC, said Mr Taylor had imposed "an information lockout" whenever he had inquired about the affairs of TAM He resigned as a director of the company last April. Mr Nesbitt, who appeared with Mr Brian Cregan, said his client was prepared to cooperate fully with Mr Patrick McSwiney, official liquidator of Taylor Asset Managers, but simply did not have the information to do so without applying to Mr McSwiney to supply the information to enable him to make the statement in accordance with the court order.

Mr John O'Donnell, counsel for Mr McSwiney, said he accepted Mr Hobbs had attempted to meet the court order in a fair way to date but felt that if the court was to give him additional time it might help him comply with the order, rather than lift it or grant a stay.

Mar Justice Smyth said the Taylor business had given rise to great public disquiet and it was quite clear from the evidence that Mr Hobbs had a real insight into the activities in Taylor Investment Planning Services Ltd. He would have knowledge of links between the two companies.

"I don't accept that a director and shareholder who is a businessman should or could have accepted that situation, not for a year, not for two years, much less five years," he said.

He granted Mr Hobbs an extension of time until November 4th to further deal with the matter.

In a similar application by Mr John Devlin, counsel for another director, Mr Tom Carroll, Mr Justice Smyth adjourned the matter until October 7th.

Mr Devlin said Mr Taylor seemed to have run an autocratic regime and, while agreeing, Mr Justice Smyth said he could have used the provisions of the Companies Act.