Mulhern faces inquiry into Clayton Love Ex-owner's loan may have exceeded legal limit

The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) is conducting an investigation into Clayton Love Distribution Ltd, the director confirmed yesterday.

The company, formerly owned by Mr John Mulhern, son-in-law of the former taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, was sold earlier this year, files in the Companies Registration Office (CRO) reveal.

The Director of Corporate Enforcement, Mr Paul Appleby, confirmed yesterday that he had obtained a search warrant in relation to the inquiry into Clayton Love Distribution and had executed that warrant.

He said he believed Mr Mulhern may have disposed of the company and may no longer be a director.

The inquiry involves suspected breaches of company law but does not involve the appointment of an authorised officer.

Mr Mulhern was named in the report of the Ansbacher inspectors as having been a client of Ansbacher Cayman. He was interviewed at length by the inspectors in relation to dealings concerning his purchase of Clayton Love Distribution.

The accounts for the company for 2002 show it made a profit before tax of €934,194 on a turnover of €23.23 million. Notes to the accounts show that Mr Mulhern had a loan of €969,082 from the company at year's end. The maximum he owed during the year was €1.69 million. The accounts noted that the loan exceeded 10 per cent of the net assets of the company within the meaning of the Companies Acts. Company law has restrictions on the size of such loans.

Filings in the CRO show that Clayton Love Distribution Ltd was sold to SHS Group Ltd in February 2004. SHS is a Northern Ireland registered consumer goods distributor involved in the food and drink sector.

Based in Newtownabbey, it was founded in 1975 by Mr Joe Sloan and Mr Geoff Salters. It owns the flavoured alcoholic drink WKD and Caledonian Clear mineral water brands. It also markets and distributes other brands including Douwe Egberts coffee, Cobra beer and Tropicana fruit juice.

Mr Appleby, speaking at a press conference in Dublin, also confirmed yesterday that his office was still conducting inquiries into AIB Investment Managers (AIBIM), which were sparked by revelations concerning offshore accounts and investments through AIBIM.

He also said his office was in contact with the printers it uses to ascertain how quickly it could print copies of the report of the inspectors appointed by the High Court to investigate NIB.

He said the report was 400 to 500 pages long and the High Court was expected to rule today on whether sections of it should be redacted before it was published. He said that assuming High Court sanction today, he hoped to be in a position to have the report published by July 30th.