Accountant Mr Aidan Phelan emerged this week as an apparent conduit between the former minister for transport, energy and communications, Mr Michael Lowry, and Esat founder Mr Denis O'Brien.
Described as a sophisticated financial expert by acquaintances, Mr Phelan has been a close associate of Mr O'Brien for many years. Less visible were his links with the former Fine Gael TD, who as minister awarded the second mobile phone licence to Esat.
The Moriarty tribunal is now investigating "overlapping" relationships between the three figures in the context of two land transactions in Britain. It is inquiring into the funding of the transactions and steps apparently taken to conceal the identities of the "true parties".
Aged 49, Mr Phelan was described as "a good numbers man" by one figure familiar with his talents. He also has an ability also to "talk the talk", an attribute often cited in relation to Mr O'Brien.
"He's a very commercial guy, good at negotiation and at winning the trust of the other person," said another figure.
With an office in central Dublin near Mr O'Brien's base at Grand Canal Quay, sources said Mr Phelan has played a crucial role in many of his ventures. "He'd have been instrumental in securing finance," said one.
Unlike other close associates of Mr O'Brien, Mr Phelan was not a board member at Esat. Yet he played a key role in Esat's flotation on the Nasdaq exchange in November 1997.
He had a small shareholding in Esat, the company sold last year to British Telecom for £2.5 billion (#3.17 billion). "He'd have made money out of it," said a source. Mr Phelan was described as very comfortable financially, but not in the wealth superleague.
Mr Phelan's brother, Brian, is also an accountant. While the brothers have business links, sources believe they mostly operate independently.
Companies Office records indicate Mr Aidan Phelan's formal links with Mr O'Brien do not end with Esat. They are co-directors of Aergo Capital Ltd, an air transport company, and Mr Phelan is also a director of the O'Brien Foundation, a company without share capital whose co-directors include Mr O'Brien's parents, Denis snr and Iris.
Mr Phelan is director of a number of other Dublin-listed companies, including TMI Training Consultants Ltd, Mavinga Investments Ltd, E.Com Park Ltd, Leeson Park Properties Ltd, Add-Gards Ltd, Aergo Financial Services Ltd and Aergo Leasing Ltd.
Company records indicate Mr Phelan's British interests include directorship of Beachwild Ltd, a property letting company with a registered office in Northamptonshire.
Records also state Mr Phelan was once a director of the football club, Doncaster Rovers. An executive at the club, Mr Miles Cartwright, said Mr Phelan was no longer linked to its day-today management.
When Mr Phelan was associated with the club, its secretary was Mr Christopher Vaughan. A solicitor, Mr Vaughan is a co-director with Mr Phelan of Draftclip, a real estate company with an office in Hertfordshire.
In a statement last Tuesday, counsel for the tribunal, Mr John Coughlan SC, linked Mr Vaughan to the two land transactions in which Mr Phelan appears to have acted as a conduit between Mr O'Brien and Mr Lowry.
The tribunal heard Mr Phelan had a business relationship directly involving Mr O'Brien, Mr Vaughan and Mr Kevin Phelan, a British-based property consultant. Mr Kevin Phelan was no relation of Mr Aidan Phelan.
The transactions concerned property at Mansfield and at Cheadle, near Manchester. The Cheadle transaction was brought to the tribunal's attention by Investec, the former GE Capital Woodchester. Mr Phelan had a particular involvement in running Mr O'Brien's relationship with that bank.
Following consultations with Mr Kevin Phelan, Mr Lowry agreed in 1997 to purchase a development site at Mansfield for £250,000 sterling (#414,319), subject to payment of a £25,000 deposit.
Mr Lowry forwarded the deposit to Mr Vaughan in December 1998. After Mr Lowry came under pressure to close the deal the following March, Mr Coughlan said it appeared Mr Phelan agreed to become a partner with him in the transaction. £300,000 was paid by Mr Aidan Phelan into the client account of Mr Vaughan from a Credit Suisse First Boston account in London. This left a balance of almost £70,000 in Mr Vaughan's client account.
The Credit Suisse First Boston account was owned by Mr O'Brien, the tribunal heard. "Mr Aidan Phelan has informed the tribunal that he had the authority of Mr Denis O'Brien to draw this sum from the account," it heard.
While Mr Phelan said the sum was an advance on a bonus payment to him for certain services provided for Mr O'Brien, the tribunal heard that property was registered in Mr Lowry's name only. It still is.
However, there was a joint venture agreement to share profits and losses on the transaction, with 90 per cent going to Mr Phelan and 10 per cent to Mr Lowry.
Just after the purchase in Mansfield was completed in 1999, Mr Kevin Phelan also introduced Mr Lowry to the Cheadle property. A deposit of £44,500 was paid from the balance remaining in Mr Vaughan's account after the Mansfield transaction.
Mr Aidan Phelan subsequently secured a £420,000 loan from GE Capital Woodchester for a British-registered company called Catclause, whose effective owner was Mr Lowry. A guarantee on the loan by a Cork businessman, Mr John Daly, failed to materialise and the land was taken in trust by Mr Vaughan and his wife.
Mr Aidan Phelan repaid that loan on March 21st last. Earlier, he told the bank it had nothing to worry about from a credit point of view "as this was a Denis O'Brien transaction".
Mr Coughlan said: "[Mr Lowry] has indicated that he knew nothing whatsoever of any connection between Mr Phelan and Mr O'Brien which would have had an impact on this transaction or involvement of Mr O'Brien in this transaction or in the financing or the provision of finance or money for the earlier Mansfield transaction."
The tribunal heard Mr O'Brien had indicated he knew nothing of the transactions and this week said he was looking forward to giving his version of events to the tribunal.
Mr Aidan Phelan did not return a telephone call to his Dublin office yesterday.
