Banker `not aware' until 1994 that Haughey was Ansbacher beneficiary

A former banker with Guinness & Mahon, Mr Padraig Collery, told the tribunal he was not aware until 1994 that Mr Charles …

A former banker with Guinness & Mahon, Mr Padraig Collery, told the tribunal he was not aware until 1994 that Mr Charles Haughey was a beneficiary of the Ansbacher deposits.

Mr Collery was involved in the administration of the deposits between 1984 and 1994, but said he did not know that transactions he was involved with related to Mr Haughey's finances.

He said it was only after discussions with Mr Jack Stakelum, who was in charge of Mr Haughey's bill-paying service, in 1994 that he realised Mr Haughey was involved with the Ansbacher deposits.

He was answering questions from counsel for the Revenue Commissioners Mr James Connolly SC.

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"In 1984 when you first became involved in these series of transactions in Guinness & Mahon, were you set aside in your particular area with your own set of files or were you intermingling with other persons of Guinness & Mahon at that time?" asked Mr Connolly.

"In 1984, my relationship would be with Mr Traynor," replied Mr Collery.

"And at that stage were you aware that Mr Des Traynor was also dealing with Mr Haughey's accounts and finances?" asked Mr Connolly.

"Not at that stage, no."

"How much later was it that you became directly involved in Mr Haughey's financial affairs?" asked Mr Connolly.

"Well, it was always an indirect relationship I had with Mr Stakelum, and that was after Mr Traynor's death," replied Mr Collery.

"I understand that, but Mr Traynor left Guinness & Mahon in 1986, well at that stage were you dealing on a regular basis with Mr Stakelum?" asked Mr Connolly.

"No. I never dealt with Mr Stakelum until '94, in relation to this."

"Indirectly, through Mr Traynor, did you have any involvement in Mr Haughey's finances between 1984 and 1994?" asked Mr Connolly.

"Presumably I had by posting the transactions that we referred to earlier in this evidence," said Mr Collery.

But he added: "Other than a financial transaction passing across an account, I would have had no knowledge."

"When did you first become aware of his involvement in any of these transactions?", asked Mr Connolly.

"By talking to Mr Stakelum in 1994," said Mr Collery.

"So it was in 1994, was the first time you were aware Mr Haughey was actually the beneficiary of any of these transactions?" asked Mr Connolly.

"That indeed is correct," he said.

"During this whole time, 1984 to 1994, did you have any direct contact with Mr Haughey in relation to his financial affairs?" "I had no direct contact whatsoever, I've never had direct contact with Mr Haughey in relation to his affairs." Earlier, Mr Collery had given evidence that in September 1995, Mr John Furze, of Ansbacher Cayman bank, had contacted him and asked him to close down several accounts which the bank had opened in Dublin.

One of these was held with NCB Stockbrokers and Mr Collery wrote to them in September asking them to transfer any sums belonging to Ansbacher Cayman to Hamilton and Ross, a Cayman Islands-based company, set up by Mr Furze.

Mr Collery said he was acting on the instructions of Mr Furze and this had been "validated" by Mr John Keilthy, the man he dealt with in NCB.