Collery and Foley at odds over account of meeting

Sharp contradictions emerged yesterday between the evidence of Mr Denis Foley TD and Mr Padraig Collery, the banker who was employed to operate the Ansbacher deposits in Ireland.

Mr Collery said he found it extraordinary that Mr Foley contested his account of a meeting they had at the Trusthouse Forte hotel in Dublin Airport on August 18th, 1998.

Mr Foley said he arranged the meeting to get statements on funds he had invested with the late Mr Des Traynor. In addition, Mr Foley claimed that during the meeting, Mr Collery made no mention of the TD's coded Ansbacher account A/A40. Nor did Mr Collery mention the Cayman banker, Mr John Furze, or that he had just returned from the Cayman Islands, according to Mr Foley's account.

However, Mr Collery said: "I find that totally incredible that here we are looking for statements of his investment and we are not mentioning the Cayman Islands or where it was."

Counsel for Mr Foley, Mr David Barniville, asked: "Weren't you aware that Mr Foley had arranged an appointment with his accountant on that day in Dublin, the purpose of which was to bring the statements to his accountant to reconcile his financial affairs?"

Mr Collery replied: "Not until I got to the meeting."

Mr Collery said if he had known Mr Foley was planning to meet his accountant, he would have brought the statements with him. He said he could not recall telling Mr Foley he would have statements within two weeks of the meeting. He also said he was unaware that Mr Foley made another appointment with his accountant on September 10th, 1998, on the assumption that statements would be produced in the intervening period. Nor was Mr Collery aware that Mr Foley had been trying to contact him for a considerable period but was unable to do so.

Mr Collery reiterated his belief that during the meeting Mr Foley mentioned that his Ansbacher funds should have been transferred to either his daughter's name, or both his and hers. Mr Foley strenuously denies this.

Pressed further on whether there was a definite mention of A/A40 during the meeting, Mr Collery said: "In that I named the actual account by its actual reference number, I would accept perhaps I may not, but I certainly would have discussed his (Mr Foley's) offshore account".

Earlier, Mr Collery gave evidence about a £42,680 cheque which was drawn on an account of Central Tourism Holdings, the Tralee-based company of which Mr Foley was a director, and credited to an Amiens account in Guinness & Mahon through which Mr Traynor used to channel Ansbacher funds.

Mr Foley said he understood the cheque - which was signed by him and another director, Mr John Byrne, and dated October 20th 1987 - was aimed at finalising affairs with Guinness & Mahon, including the discharge of a loan taken out in June 1972. The tribunal heard on Wednesday this loan was repaid in September 1985 with a payment of £135,510. Mr Foley said he did not know how the cheque ended up in the Amiens account, as it was made out to Guinness & Mahon.

Mr Collery said the only way it could have been transferred to the account was if instructions came from a senior level in the bank. He noted, however, that Mr Traynor had left the bank at this stage. Mr Collery completed his evidence yesterday but the tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Moriarty, said he may have to be recalled.