Dermot Desmond was asked to aid Mr Haughey soon after meeting him, writes Colm Keena

Within a relatively short time of their getting to know each other in early 1987, financier Dermot Desmond became involved in matters to do with the finances of the late Charles Haughey, according to the Moriarty tribunal report.

The general election of February 17th, 1987, returned Mr Haughey to power after a number of years in opposition.

At or around the time of the election, Mr Haughey and his front bench were addressed by four economists who gave their views as to how the disastrous economic situation could be improved. The meeting was funded by Mr Desmond and set up with the assistance of Mr Haughey's press officer, PJ Mara.

Mr Haughey was impressed by Mr Desmond and by his plan for an international financial services centre in Dublin, which Mr Haughey backed.

Later in 1987 Mr Desmond was contacted by the late Des Traynor, the man who played a key role in the running of Mr Haughey's secret finances. Mr Traynor said he was seeking to raise money for Mr Haughey.

Mr Desmond told the Moriarty tribunal that he said he was suffering financially as a result of the October 1987 stock market collapse and he declined.

Mr Justice Moriarty, in his report, said it was "significant that Mr Traynor, who by all accounts was cautious and discreet in all of his professional dealings, felt sufficient confidence in Mr Desmond's commitment to Mr Haughey to ask him to contribute to Mr Haughey's finances in such a direct fashion, at such a relatively short time after Mr Desmond's initial introduction to Mr Haughey."

Mr Desmond's finances had improved as the 1980s came to a close. The Haughey family yacht, Celtic Mist, needed repairs and Mr Desmond, in a conversation with Conor Haughey, said the bills should be sent to him.

The yacht was brought from Gibraltar to Kinsale in the summer of 1988 and the following summer to the Ron Holland boatyard in Crosshaven, Co Cork.

Work on the boat led to bills totalling £75,546 making their way to Mr Desmond's office in the April 1990 to February 1991 period. They were settled using money that originated from a company called Freezone, which played a central role in the controversial Johnston Mooney & O'Brien site sale.

Mr Desmond told the tribunal the amounts spent on the refurbishment were a loan to Conor Haughey but Mr Justice Moriarty rejected this evidence.

Mr Desmond also supported Feltrim plc, a company of which Conor Haughey was a founding managing director.

In July 1990, when Feltrim was in serious difficulty, Mr Desmond bought shares for £21,041. A year later, in August 1991, he advanced a loan of £55,000 to Feltrim, and a year later the loan was converted into shares.

After the company was converted into Minmet, and Mr Haughey departed his role in the company, Mr Desmond made further investments and in time profited to the tune of £936,705. Mr Desmond agreed that this profit was the result of "pure luck".

Mr Justice Moriarty found that the investments in Feltrim could not be said to be payments connected to Mr Haughey's position as taoiseach.

However, he found that the payments linked with the yacht were indirect payments to Mr Haughey and noted that they totalled more than Mr Haughey's gross salary at the time.

In the period after Mr Haughey's retirement, Mr Desmond made two payments to him, totalling £125,000 sterling. Mr Justice Moriarty did not accept Mr Desmond's evidence that these payments were loans and said it was the tribunal's view that Mr Desmond's motive was connected with the office formerly held by Mr Haughey.

Mr Desmond told the tribunal he made no direct payments to Mr Haughey before 1994. Mr Justice Moriarty said no evidence to the contrary had been heard but he could not make a finding to that effect as neither Mr Haughey's nor Mr Desmond's offshore accounts had been accessible to the tribunal for the purposes of verifying the matter.