Former Esat Digifone chief executive Mr Barry Maloney said he was surprised when Mr Denis O'Brien told him in 1996 he had paid £100,000 to Mr Michael Lowry. He agreed the payment to the then minister for communications would have been improper and corrupt in light of Esat Digifone's receipt of a mobile phone licence.
The tribunal also heard that Mr O'Brien asked Mr Maloney to authorise a payment for consultancy fees to political lobbyist Mr P.J. Mara with no supporting paperwork.
Mr O'Brien had informed Mr Maloney about the £100,000 payment to Mr Lowry when he was discussing "success payments", or bonuses, to consultants, Mr Maloney said. He said he could not pay the money without supporting documents. Mr O'Brien was frustrated the money had not been paid as he was meeting the consultants socially, Mr Maloney said.
"I believe Denis had mentioned it that P.J. [Mara] was owed money," Mr Maloney said. Two other consultants were also owed money, Mr Maloney added. During the conversation about the "success payments", Mr Maloney said Mr O'Brien had told him he had made two £100,000 payments to Mr Michael Lowry and another unnamed individual.
Mr Maloney said he told Mr O'Brien he didn't want to know any more about the payment to Mr Lowry. Mr Maloney said this conversation took place in either Mr O'Brien's office or the Esat Digifone offices, but Mr O'Brien had said it took place during a jog in Co Wicklow and he had never mentioned Mr Lowry.
Mr Maloney said Mr O'Brien raised the matter of the payment twice again in 1997, saying he had not made the payment to Mr Lowry. Mr O'Brien in his evidence had said it was Mr Maloney who raised the issue. Mr Maloney said that, at the end of each meeting, Mr O'Brien had told him he had not made the payment.
"I know you must be worried and I just want to reassure you it didn't happen," Mr O Brien had said, Mr Maloney told the tribunal. Asked about his reaction to this, Mr Maloney said while he didn't say anything to Mr O'Brien he wondered why he was bringing the issue up. He said he assumed it was to reassure him.
Mr Maloney said he had sought legal advice after his conversations with Mr O'Brien about the payment, when the Moriarty tribunal published its terms of reference and when the issue arose of putting a statement in the prospectus of the Esat Telecom initial public offering regarding the Moriarty tribunal.
He had gone to Esat Digifone's solicitors to ask if there was any reason to be worried.
Mr Maloney also said he had no evidence to support Mr O'Brien's assertion that he knew nothing about the $50,000 payment to Fine Gael or the assertion of Mr Arve Johansen of Telenor that he paid the money at Mr O'Brien's request.