Tax evaded through the Ansbacher deposits will have to be repaid and some of the depositors could go to jail, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said last night. He was speaking as the Revenue Commissioners began a detailed examination of the tax affairs of the 120 people connected with the Ansbacher accounts.
An authorised officer's report containing the names of the investors was passed to the Revenue yesterday by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney. The Revenue has already begun legal action to try to gain access to the accounts under new powers in the 1999 Budget. Such access would provide the Revenue with details of how the accounts were operated.
The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, and the Central Bank are also examining the authorised officer's report.
As well as penalties - and in some cases jail terms - which can be applied to tax evaders, many of the depositors may also have knowingly breached exchange control regulations, which on conviction can lead to a fine or a jail term of up to two years.
The Revenue Commissioners are examining the £50 million deposited by Ansbacher (Cayman) in Irish banks and will also be looking for details of the "hundreds of millions" which the 120 people may have held in offshore trusts and companies.
Speaking to reporters during a break in the two-day meeting of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party in Galway, Mr Ahern pointed out that legislation was in place whereby people found to have evaded tax could be sent to jail. He said that revealing the identities of the Ansbacher depositors at this stage could hamper the inquiry of the inspectors appointed by the High Court on Wednesday.
The Taoiseach said: "But, whoever they are, and they have to be part of the business world of the Eighties, they will be pursued through the full rigours of the law."
He had not been surprised at the revelations that far more people than originally thought may have had money in the Ansbacher accounts. "The pressures of the Eighties meant there were people strapped for cash. People were finding the devices and the means, and people did not care about paying their share."
Many of the 120 people connected with the deposits are known to be leading figures in the business community.
Since many of the individuals and companies who were involved in the Ansbacher scheme would have been advised by accountancy firms based in the Republic, the Tanaiste looked outside the State to select inspectors to examine the accounts.
Wednesday's High Court affidavit stated that eight of the 15 members of the 1987 board of directors of Cement Roadstone Holdings had been Ansbacher depositors. CRH, in whose registered offices Ansbacher's un licensed banking operation is alleged to have been based, issued a brief statement yesterday. The company said that its directors had "never discussed or approved or knowingly permitted the carrying out of banking business by the late Mr Des Traynor". Chairman of CRH between 1987 and 1994, Mr Traynor set up the Ansbacher scheme in the 1970s and managed it for some 20 years.
The general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Mr Peter Cassells, said that those who had evaded tax should be jailed and the money should be recouped.