Mr Denis O'Brien's former accountant and adviser, Mr Aidan Phelan, did not remember an Isle of Man account containing £407,000 when a top-level inquiry into Mr O'Brien's affairs was being conducted in 1997.
The account was opened in July 1996 on Mr O'Brien's instructions, but in Mr Phelan's name. The opening lodgment of £407,000 came from the account of one of Mr O'Brien's companies but was lodged to a sports company in which Mr Phelan had a shareholding, before being lodged to the new account in Mr Phelan's name.
The clothing company account and the new account in Mr Phelan's name were in AIB, the Isle of Man. Mr O'Brien transferred money from an account of Radio Investments, in Woodchester Bank, Dublin. He had a number of personal accounts in Woodchester Bank at the time.
Mr Phelan told Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, he was given instructions from Mr O'Brien in relation to disbursements from the Isle of Man account. These included one of £50,000 and another of £100,000 to the late Mr David Austin. The account was closed in May 1997.
Mr Phelan agreed that in October 1997 he discussed with Mr Owen O'Connell, managing partner with William Fry solicitors, the pending initial public offering (IPO) of Esat Telecom shares in the US. Mr O'Connell was overseeing an inquiry into disbursements from accounts in Woodchester belonging to Mr O'Brien.
At the time an inquiry was under way into suggestions that Mr O'Brien might have made a payment of £100,000 to Mr Michael Lowry.
When asked by Mr O'Connell if there were any other accounts other than the ones in Woodchester which were being checked, Mr Phelan said only AIB accounts to do with Mr O'Brien's household bills and credit card.
Asked why the Isle of Man account was not mentioned, Mr Phelan said: "I didn't recall that account at the time."
Mr Phelan said the £150,000 which was paid to Mr Austin was for a house in Spain which Mr O'Brien was buying from Mr Austin. He had not forgotten this transaction but did not think it relevant then to Mr O'Connell's inquiries. He did not know Mr Austin had passed the money on to Mr Lowry.
At the time of the IPO, Mr Phelan was aware inquiries were under way into a payment to Mr Austin which was intended as a contribution to Fine Gael.
Mr Coughlan said the £150,000 payment to Mr Austin was made from an offshore account when it easily could have been made from one of Mr O'Brien's accounts in Woodchester. Mr Phelan said it hadn't occurred to him in 1997 to mention the Isle of Man account. Mr Coughlan suggested Mr Phelan's explanation "sounds very hollow".
Mr Phelan said the opening of the Isle of Man account did not strike him as particularly unusual then. "Dealing with Denis, anything can happen in terms of what he might do," he said, to laughter in the public gallery. "He's entrepreneurial."
The tribunal heard Mr Phelan made $2 million from the IPO of Esat Telecom.
Mr Phelan agreed trust documents showing the transfer of the Spanish house from Mr Austin to Mr O'Brien were created after he contacted a Gibraltar secretarial services agent in January 1998. The declarations said the transfer had occurred on August 12th, 1996.
Asked about Mr O'Brien's attitude to his financial position, Mr Phelan said he was very ambitious and would think more of cash flow and "global figures". He said his relationship with Mr O'Brien came to an end in November 1999, there having been several "near-partings" before that. He continues his evidence today.
