Mr Craig David Bond, son of the jailed Australian tycoon, Mr Alan Bond, is presenting himself as a representative for Mir Oil Development Ltd, the mystery company at the heart of the Bula affair. A government-appointed inspector, barrister Mr Lyndon McCann, is currently working to establish the beneficial ownership of the British Virgin Islands registered company.

He has also been asked to establish who the owner was in September 1995 when Bula Resources plc entered into a deal with the company. The deal involved the transfer of 101 million Bula shares in return for part ownership of a Mir Oil subsidiary, Mir Space, which holds an interest in the Salymskoye oil field in Siberia. Almost one quarter of these shares have since been sold, for approximately £700,000.

Mr McCann has made contact with Mr Jim Stanley, the former chairman of Bula who set up the deal with Mir and a Russian company called KMNGG. Mr Stanley, whose whereabouts have been unclear for some time, is currently staying in Moscow.

It is understood he is sharing a business address with a Mr Anatoly Sokolov. The Irish Times has a copy of a letter purportedly written by Mr Charles Ellis, "chairman and president" of Mir Space, to Mr Sokolov in September 1995. The signature on the letter bears no resemblance to the normal signature of Mr Ellis and is thought to be a forgery. Who is behind the forgery is unknown.

Mr Lyndon and his partner in the investigation, barrister Mr Fintan O'Connor, are hoping to meet with Mr Stanley in Moscow in early December.

At the time of the deal Mr Stanley told the board of Bula that Mr Ellis, of South Africa, was the owner of Mir. However Mr Ellis has since been tracked down by Bula and has informed them he has nothing to do with Mir or the Russian deal.

Bula is currently trying to serve notice on Mr Stanley of a High Court action for damages against him, but has not yet been able to do so. Bula is also seeking damages against Mir Oil.

Mr Craig Bond, who it is understood carries a British passport and lives in Hertfordshire, has power of attorney to represent Mir Oil.

The power is understood to have been granted on November 17th, or Monday last. It is signed by Ms Susan Neil, a nominee director of Mir. Ms Neil works for Chamonix Corporate Services Ltd, a company formations business based in Jersey which has been used in the past by Bula.

Mr Bond met with Mr Vladamir Tokarev, the former general manager of KMNGG, in Moscow recently. The meeting is understood to have been organised by Mr Jim Stanley. Mr Tokarev and Mr Stanley were the central figures in organising the Salymskoye deal.

Mr Bond had not been mentioned before in relation to the Salymskoye deal. Mr Bond has not yet made contact with Bula or with Mr McCann. As a result of the refusal of Chamonix to disclose the beneficial owner or owners of Mir Oil, Bula went to the High Court on September 12th and were granted an order freezing the sale of the remaining, approximately 74 million Bula shares held by Mir as a result of the Salymskoye deal.

This order still stands. The matter is to come up in court this Monday. A Dublin firm, Gavin Burke solicitors, has been engaged to represent Mir.

Bula and KMNGG are currently in negotiation over their future relationship and are understood to have held a meeting yesterday in London. The negotiations are complicated by the fact that KMNGG has a deal with Mir and not with Bula. Bula's involvement in the oil field is by way of Mir. However the finance spent on developing the field was provided by Bula.

Mr Bond's father, Mr Alan Bond (58), is currently in jail in Austrailia. He was convicted in 1992 in relation to one of the largest corporate frauds ever. He has also been convicted in relation to a fraud involving the French impressionist painting, La Promenade, by Eduard Manet. He was orginally jailed for four years, he had a further 3 years added to his sentence last August and will not now be up for release before June 1999. In the late 1980s Mr Bond's personal fortune was estimated at about £170 million.

Mr McCann has been asked to report back to the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, by January 23rd.