Flood may seek new penalty for Lawlor

The threat of another jail term hangs today over the Dublin West TD Mr Liam Lawlor. Lawyers for the Flood tribunal will ask the High Court that the TD be further penalised for failing to provide it with documentation and records of his financial transactions.

Claims by the tribunal that the TD had failed to observe orders to hand over documentation to it were being rejected by Mr Lawlor, his counsel, Mr John Trainor SC, said yesterday.

It is expected that lengthy submissions will be made on behalf of Mr Lawlor to prevent him having to serve his third jail sentence in just over 12 months.

A series of allegations of deficiencies in documentation given to the tribunal following the delivery by him of an affidavit on December 7th last were made in affidavits by tribunal solicitor Ms Maire Anne Howard which were opened to the court yesterday to Mr Frank Clarke SC.

Much of the documentation being sought relates to bank accounts in Liechtenstein while it is also submitted that invoices relating to National Toll Roads and Jones Group plc have also not been discovered.

The belated production of some document relating to those two companies has not been explained while Mr Lawlor has also failed to make discovery of bank accounts opened on his behalf by his son, Niall, it is claimed.

Mr Lawlor was not in court when the hearing opened yesterday afternoon. When the judge asked if he was present and was told not, the judge said the TD should be brought to court. Mr Lawlor entered Court No 11 within minutes and remained there for the hearing.

Summarising the "deficiencies" in Mr Lawlor's discovery, Ms Howard said critical documentation relating to Liechtenstein accounts had now been produced by Mr Lawlor for the first time without any adequate explanation as to why it had not been discovered before, as ordered by the court.

Missing from the documentation now provided were vouchers of lodgment transactions, and it was not apparent there had been any requests from Mr Lawlor or his solicitors for such documentation.

It is claimed Mr Lawlor has failed to make discovery of headed notepaper furnished to him by Michael Quinn in the names of Industrial Consultant Associates, Industrial Consultants International Ltd and Comex Trading Corporation.

Mr Lawlor had not discovered invoices issued under the names of various corporate entities to which he had referred or any other documentation identifying the persons to whom those invoices were issued, it is submitted. Those invoices relating to National Toll Roads and Jones Group plc had been produced on September 7th last but not discovered.

Referring to Comex Trading, Ms Howard referred an affidavit of discovery of last September which was described as a letter from Chris Jones to "LL" that month.

The letter explained that Mr Jones had made two payments to Mr Lawlor in 1990/1991 in the sums of £5,000 and £7,5000 respectively in connection with advice received from Mr Lawlor relating to the rezoning of lands at Knocklyon.

Ms Howard, in her affidavit, said Mr Lawlor had failed to comply with a court order in relation to six bank accounts in the US into which he made lodgments and caused lodgments to be made.

Mr Lawlor also failed to discover documentation relating to Mennolly Homes.

In his submissions, Mr Clarke said that in the circumstances the view of the tribunal was that there had been a significant continuing failure on the part of Mr Lawlor to meet his obligations. Mr Lawlor's side would have to address that.

Ms Howard referred to documents sent by Mr Lawlor to a Mr Kieber of Liechtensteinische Landesbank in which the deputy appeared to order the transfer of specified funds from specified Liechtenstein accounts to various banks and elsewhere.

In evidence to the tribunal, Mr Lawlor had led it to believe those accounts were not his, she said.

She also referred to a fax from Mr Lawlor to Mr Kieber in November 1998 requesting a transfer of £50,000 in the name John Long, held by Mr Lawlor in Ulster Bank, Palmerstown.

Evidence now suggested Mr Lawlor was the holder of eight identified accounts in Liechtenstein Landesbank.

If that was so, he had now to be in a position to obtain and if necessary compel the production from the bank of all documentation relating to the opening of the accounts and the origin of some £700,000 deposited there.

Two loan agreements produced by Mr Lawlor and said by him to be indicative of the origin of the funds in Liechtenstein were not contemporaneous with lodgments of £351,000 and £333,000 respectively.

Ms Howard referred to a letter written by solicitor Mr Noel Smyth in March 1997 in respect of an alleged payment by Mr John Caldwell to Mr Lawlor for £350,000. She believed it had been submitted last July on behalf of Mr Lawlor that he had no recollection of having instructed Mr Smyth to send that letter to Mr Caldwell.

However, there was a coincidence in time between the deposit of the first monies in Liechtenstein and the events referred to in the letter.

In a replying affidavit, Mr Lawlor said he had requested on many occasions previously copies of all documentation held by the Liechtenstein bank.

He had given the tribunal authority to make direct contact with the bank. He had travelled to Liechtenstein on January 14th to retrieve documentation. He did not believe he could do anything to discover any further documentation from the bank.

The tribunal is also seeking documentation in relation to what are known as the Navona Ltd lands at Coolamber, Lucan, and Mr Lawlor's interest in Mennolly Homes.

Ms Howard said it appeared one of the companies through which Mr Lawlor operated his businesses in Prague was King and Co, Prague.

Earlier this year the tribunal was informed of various payments made by Ballymore Homes and/or its principal, Mr Seán Mulryan, to Mr Lawlor.

Mr Lawlor had furnished a letter from solicitors for Mr Mulryan and Ballymore Group of Companies detailing payments made to Mr Lawlor and Zateka Properties. Zateka was the Czech company in respect of which the tribunal had raised a number of matters previously.

According to a letter from those solicitors last September, a payment of £1,200 was made to Mr Lawlor in June 1993 as a political donation to the Fianna Fail party.

A payment of £10,000 was made by Kind and Company, international property consultants, in October 1994and two payments, each of £20,000, were made to Long Consultants in late 1997-early 1998.