GTech says no company funds in Haughey firm

GTech, the US company that helps run the National Lottery, has said it had nothing to do with the $100,000 (#92,850) its former chief executive invested in Mr Ciaran Haughey's company, Celtic Helicopters. In legal documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), GTech says no company funds were used, nor was the chief executive reimbursed as part of the deal. It also says it is co-operating with the Moriarty Tribunal.

The controversy dates to February 1993, when Mr Guy Snowden invested $100,000 in Celtic Helicopters, the company controlled by the son of the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey. The next month, GTech was formally awarded a multi-million pound contract with the National Lottery for a further five years, although it had been selected for the work the previous November.

Earlier this year, the Moriarty Tribunal heard that in late 1992 Celtic Helicopters was close to bankruptcy, and sought to raise capital. Mr Des Traynor, who acted for many years as Mr Charles Haughey's personal financier, raised a total of £290,000 for Celtic from five separate investors, including Mr Snowden.

In its SEC submission, GTech says: "The Tribunal has requested that the company provide various documents regarding the company's business in Ireland. The company is co-operating with the Tribunal."

GTech said it had carried out its own inquiry into the facts surrounding Mr Snowden's investment and the extent, if any, of the firm's involvement in the $100,000 deal.

"The company's investigation has determined that no company funds were used to make Mr Snowden's investment, and there is no information to suggest that Mr Snowden ever sought reimbursement for the investment from the company," GTech's SEC statement says.

"Further, there is no information to suggest that Mr Snowden informed anyone else at the company of his investment at the time, or that his investment was related in any way to the renewal of the company's contract to supply systems and support to the National Lottery Company," it continues.

Under SEC rules, the companies are obliged to be scrupulously honest with shareholders, warning of any and all possible future problems.