The tribunal has accused Mr Liam Lawlor of lying about his involvement in a land deal at Coolamber, near his home in Lucan.
Mr Justice Alan Mahon said it was "nothing short of a lie" for Mr Lawlor to claim in the High Court two years ago that he had no involvement in the Coolamber lands. He "couldn't have forgotten" that he'd spent the preceding years organising the financing and purchase of the property.
Mr Lawlor gave no information to the tribunal about the Coolamber deal, which resulted in an offshore payment to him of £350,000, but details emerged in documents supplied to the inquiry by his former lawyer, Mr Noel Smyth, and businessman Mr Larry Goodman. These documents, based on Mr Lawlor's recollection of meetings about Coolamber, showed he was actively involved in the project with the lawyer Mr John Caldwell and the businessman Mr Jim Kennedy, who is refusing to appear before the tribunal. Mr Lawlor's job was to raise money to buy the lands and he did so through a loan from Mr Goodman, which was channelled through Mr Lawlor's company Advanced Proteins.
Mr Lawlor and Mr Kennedy were initially allocated a 41.3 per cent share of the project, with Mr Caldwell taking up the remaining 17.3 per cent. However, after Mr Goodman's loan was paid off, the shareholding was revised, and Mr Lawlor was allocated 25 per cent (held through Mr Caldwell), according to his notes. Mr Kennedy took 50 per cent and Mr Caldwell the remaining 25 per cent.
Mr Des O'Neill asked how this account accorded with Mr Lawlor's evidence to the High Court in 2001. On that occasion, he said he was not involved in the purchase or ownership of the land, and had no interest in it. Mr Lawlor said none of what was proposed in the documents "came to pass". The lands were ultimately disposed of without reference to him. But Mr O'Neill said the witness was "intimately involved" in the land, from the time it was purchased in 1987 to the time it was sold to builders in 1994. There was a "considerable deficit in truth" in his account.
Mr Lawlor repeated that he had "absolutely nothing" to do with the land. Judge Mahon said Mr Lawlor couldn't have forgotten that he had been claiming a substantial interest in the Coolamber lands. It "defied belief" that he had forgotten every detail in the few short years since the document was prepared.
Mr Lawlor also told the court in 2001 that if the lands were successfully developed he "hoped" to receive a share of the profits. In fact, he had already received £350,000 from the deal. Mr Lawlor's evidence continues for a seventh day today.
