Businessman and lawyer in €18m land case attending clinics, court told

A BUSINESSMAN at the centre of a controversial €18 million land deal in which €7 million lent by a bank has allegedly gone missing, has been admitted to a stress clinic while a solicitor also involved in the controversy remains in a psychiatric unit, a judge was told yesterday.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly, who wants both men to answer questions in court, said that signing into a stress clinic or psychiatric hospital was only deferring this "very odd" matter and he was determined to press on with the court's investigation into what happened to the €7 million funds lent by the Irish branch of Investec (UK) Ltd in connection with the purchase of a land bank in Co Offaly.

He made further directions for the production of documents and also directed a number of persons to give evidence to the court on May 6th.

If businessman Tony McAuliffe, Furze, Co Kildare, whom the court heard is in a stress clinic, was unable to attend on that day, he would require direct medical evidence to that effect. The same applied to solicitor John Duffy, of John Duffy & Company solicitors, Main Street, Monasterevan, Co Kildare, who remains in a midlands psychiatric unit, the judge added.

Earlier, he was given a number of documents by Frank O'Carroll, an accountant, of Johnstown, Co Kildare, who said he had done work for Mr McAuliffe although, he added, Mr McAuliffe had not had an accountant since 2001.

Last week, Martin Conway, a company director, said he was asked by Mr Duffy to write a €7 million cheque related to the deal although he had told the solicitor he didn't have such funds in his bank account.

He said Mr Duffy had told him that "didn't matter" and that the cheque was for "securing a loan". He understood the cheque was to be held by Mr Duffy and would never be cashed.

The judge has directed next month's hearing into the matter be attended by Mr McAuliffe; Mr Duffy; Mr O'Carroll; Mr Conway and Sharon Clarke, both directors of Conway Clarke Properties Ltd; Leo Cox, care of Cathal L Flynn & Company solicitors, St George's Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim and Claire Moran, also of Cathal L Flynn solicitors.

The case arose after French Furze Holdings Ltd agreed in January 2007 with JH Real Estate Ltd, a company owned by developer Robert "Pino" Harris, to buy 55 acres of lands at Kilbeggan, Tullamore, for €8 million.

Investec claims that on February 16th, 2007, a share purchase agreement was made between Tony McAuliffe and his son Dermot, directors of French Furze, for the sale for €17 million of the shares in French Furze to Conway Clarke.

That agreement provided for a deposit of €7 million payable on the signing of the McAuliffes solicitor - Mr Duffy - to be held as stakehold or pending completion of the deal by March 30th, 2007.

Mr Duffy wrote to Tony McAuliffe on February 19th, 2007 confirming receipt of a €7 million deposit. On February 27th, 2007, Investec agreed to lend the McAuliffes €8.82 million, the money was drawn down on March 6th, 2007 and on the same day the McAuliffes assigned to the bank their interest in the share purchase agreement and guaranteed the obligations of the company to Investec.

Because the share purchase agreement was not completed on the agreed dates in 2007, the bank asserted the deposit of €7 million paid by Conway Clarke to the McAuliffes is forfeit. Late last year, Duffy & Company told the bank they had a new purchaser for the lands and French Furze Holdings Ltd purported to enter into a contract for sale of the lands to Leo Cox for €18 million.