McLaughlin secured return of papers from former wife

Mr Kyran McLaughlin, who resigned as joint chief executive of Davy Stockbrokers on Wednesday, secured the return of personal …

Mr Kyran McLaughlin, who resigned as joint chief executive of Davy Stockbrokers on Wednesday, secured the return of personal financial papers from his former wife earlier this week.

It is understood the former Davy board member took legal steps to have the documentation returned from his ex-wife, Ms Susan McLaughlin. She came into possession of the documentation in the 1980s.

Ms McLaughlin declined to comment when a reporter called to her home in Foxrock, Co Dublin, yesterday.

Mr McLaughlin has made no comment since his statement on Wednesday in which he said he was aware that "a number of my personal papers from the 1980s have been distributed to the media and other parties".

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It is known that a document concerning the Ansbacher deposits was given to the authorised officer, Mr Gerard Ryan, appointed by the Tanaiste in January 1998 to investigate Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd. He completed his report in July.

The document also came to the attention of the Moriarty tribunal. Mr McLaughlin was called to the tribunal's offices on Friday last. He told the tribunal's lawyers he was not the author of the document, though he had been given a copy of it by the Cayman Islands banker, the late John Furze, in 1983.

Another document, a 1984 memo about a tax scheme involving Liechtenstein trusts, was given to RTE. It subsequently emerged that the document was drafted for Davy Stockbrokers at a time when the partners were about to sell a stake in the firm to Citicorp. The firm says it never made use of the scheme.

Mr McLaughlin revealed that he had established a Liechtenstein trust for his children in 1986. The disclosure came after it emerged that documentation concerning the trust was in circulation. It is understood he invested £250,000 which, he said, came from after-tax income.

Mr McLaughlin informed his partners on Wednesday that he had decided to resign because there may be matters to be resolved with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to the trust. He remains an employee of Davy, and it is envisaged he will return to the board once any Revenue matters are resolved.

Mr McLaughlin's personal papers are understood to have been in the McLaughlin family home when the couple separated in the 1980s.

He has been a senior partner of Davy Stockbrokers for many years. Davy is the State's most successful stockbroking firm and has often served as adviser to the Government. It is 90 per cent owned by the Bank of Ireland.