Banker questioned on currency figures

Currencies:An AlB foreign exchange official has indicated to the Mahon tribunal that money lodged on behalf of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in a branch in O'Connell Street, Dublin in December 1994 was probably $45,000 (€32,000).

However Rosemary Murtagh, AIB currency service operations manager, also agreed with counsel for Mr Ahern that the money could possibly have been in sterling.

Colm Ó hOisín, counsel for the Taoiseach, said that the issue of whether the lodgment had been in dollars or sterling was the $64,000 question.

Mr Ahern has said that the lodgement of more than £28,000 sterling made by his former partner Celia Larkin came from £30,000 sterling given to him by a Manchester-based businessman to spend on the refurbishment of a rental property. He has denied ever receiving dollars.

The tribunal heard that for December 5th, 1994 AIB's central currency service had received from its branch in O'Connell Street foreign exchange notes in either sterling or dollars equal to the Irish punt sum of £29,254.97.

Ms Murtagh agreed with tribunal counsel Des O'Neill SC that no figure in sterling of between £28,500 and £29,500 could have converted on that day in £100 units to £29,254.97 punts.

She also agreed that if an exchange rate of 1.5382 was applied to $45,000 it would produce a figure of £29,254.97 punts.

Mr O'Neill suggested that the application of any of 1,000 possible exchange rates to a sterling sum - "going off the Richter scale at both ends" - would not realise a figure of £29,254.97.

He maintained that foreign exchange documentation from AIB O'Connell Street for December 5th, 1994 showed that it purchased £28,969.34 in overseas currency.

Ms Murtagh agreed that based on the documentation, the branch had purchased sterling to the value of £1,921.53 on that day but had also bought £28,969.34 worth of other foreign currencies.

Ms Murtagh said it was most likely that the funds purchased that day by the branch were also remitted to the currency service on the same day.

She also agreed that if the dockets were accurate that currencies other than sterling were most likely to have been remitted.

Mr O'Neill: "Wouldn't that confirm to you, as a matter of probability if not certainty, that the amount of cash in the currency service on December 7th was $45,000".

Ms Murtagh: "Most probable, yes".

She also agreed that if the money was to be sterling that two "of the normal" considerations would have had to be in play.

One was that a clear-up of currency was taking place on the day and that normal bank procedures were not being followed. The other was that £1 notes from the Channel Islands or Northern Ireland "were also thrown into the pot as well".

However Mr Ó hOisín suggested it was possible to carry out a mathematical exercise on total amounts remitted to the central currency service from a number of AIB branches which would prove that the sum of £29,254,97 must have been sterling and could not have been dollars.

In separate evidence Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley told the tribunal he had received a political donation of £10,000 from developer Owen O'Callaghan for his European election campaign in 1994.

The tribunal heard that Mr O'Callaghan wanted the donation cleared by party headquarters and deducted from the £100,000 sum it had requested from him.