Finnegan insists he tried to get records

The auctioneer Mr John Finnegan has denied engaging in a pretence to prevent the tribunal getting access to the records of his trust fund in the Channel Islands. Mr Justice Flood had earlier described Mr Finnegan's claim that he was unable to obtain the documents as "a load of rubbish".

However, Mr Finnegan insisted he put "ferocious pressure" on the offshore bankers controlling his trust but they had refused to release the documents.

The tribunal chairman has given the auctioneer until Tuesday to begin legal proceedings to ensure the documents are made available.

Mr Pat Hanratty SC, for the tribunal, accused Mr Finnegan of pretending he could not obtain documents that were always available to the beneficiary of a trust. "This is a pretence orchestrated by someone to enable you to avoid producing the documents. It is a charade that flies in the face of all the evidence."

At one point, the chairman adjourned proceedings for 20 minutes to give Mr Finnegan time to start legal proceedings against the offshore bankers controlling his trust. An angry Mr Justice Flood said he was fed up with "this nonsense" and told Mr Finnegan to "get with it".

He accused Mr Finnegan of doing "sweet. . .nothing" to obtain his accounts from the trust since the tribunal sought this information last April.

After the break, Mr Finnegan informed the tribunal he had instructed lawyers in Jersey to "take all steps in haste" to begin proceedings against Credit Suisse Trust, the administrators of his trust. "They will move it on immediately, sir," he told the chairman.

He also spoke to a senior official of Credit Suisse, who told him he was "very sorry" for Mr Finnegan's predicament but said there was "nothing he could do".

Mr Finnegan, who has already received a warning about his failure to co-operate with the tribunal, had earlier claimed he made "every effort" to obtain the information from Credit Suisse.

The bank's officials told him they were "paying close attention to what was going on in Ireland at the various tribunals", he said. After some deliberation, they refused to release the documents. He was told it was "not in the interests of the trust" to do so. Mr Finnegan said the bank had taken "a policy decision" not to give information to "anyone".

The accountant, Mr Des Traynor, set up Mr Finnegan's family trust in Guernsey in 1973. The proceeds of his business partnership with builders Brennan and McGowan were lodged in bank accounts in the Channel Islands.

Asked by Mr Hanratty what contact he had made with the bank, the witness said he had phoned many times. He hadn't written any letters, apart from one sent by his solicitor in September.

But Mr Hanratty pointed out that according to Mr Finnegan's solicitor, the auctioneer had in fact written letters. It was "an odd situation" that the witness had put hundreds of thousands of pounds into his trust and was now asking the tribunal to believe that the person in charge of his money would not even say how much was in the account. "For all you know, they could have run off with your money." Mr Finnegan agreed it was "an odd situation". He could "understand" the tribunal's frustration. "I am making every effort to get the information and will keep you informed about all the documents," he said.

Mr Justice Flood said the tribunal had made an order and it required this to be obeyed by "whoever the hell" was involved.

Mr Finnegan said the lawyer he had engaged in Jersey seemed "a go-ahead type".

"Well if he's so go-ahead, why don't you tell him to go ahead and seek a mandatory injunction to obtain information?" Mr Hanratty asked. He also queried Mr Finnegan's failure to provide any personal files relating to his dealings with Brennan and McGowan. It was "virtually inconceivable" that the witness didn't have them.