A businessman, Mr David Doyle, said yesterday that money which he believed was being deposited in a personal bank account operated by the late Mr Des Traynor in Dublin may, in fact, have been held offshore.
Mr Doyle, son of the late Mr P.V. Doyle, said he had asked Mr Traynor to open an account at Guinness & Mahon in the early 1980s at a time when he was "greatly concerned" about his personal security.
He understood the bank had only one Irish branch, at College Green, and that this would guarantee a greater degree of privacy in relation to his personal finances.
The account had no name attached to it but rather a number which was identifiable with Mr Doyle.
While "initially" he thought the account was located in Dublin, he said it may have been moved to London, or the Cayman Islands. Despite the move, he said, he continued to receive statements from Guinness & Mahon of a similar nature until the account was closed some time in the period 1987-1991.
The tribunal was told, however, that the bank had no record of an account held either in Mr Doyle's name or by means of a number corresponding to him.
Mr Doyle said that, to the best of his knowledge, Mr Traynor was the only person who knew about the account. Mr Doyle never told his father about it.
Mr Traynor was also the only person with whom Mr Doyle dealt at Guinness & Mahon. Mr Traynor operated the account until it was closed, seemingly after he had ceased involvement with the bank in 1986.
Mr Doyle said he usually dealt directly with Mr Traynor, or his secretary, when making deposits or withdrawals.
These were made without appointment, sometimes in the lobby of Doyle hotels or possibly at Mr Traynor's office at Fitzwilliam Square.
Mr Doyle said Mr Traynor used to have lunch most days in the Burlington or Berkeley Court with business associates, and that he used these occasions to give him money for the account. "Whoever he was meeting he would always stand at the front door," said Mr Doyle.
Counsel for the tribunal, Mr Jerry Healy SC, asked: "If you didn't have an appointment with him do you mean you'd just go up to him and say, Mr Traynor, or Des, or however you addressed him, I want to give you some money for my account?"
Mr Doyle replied: "Yes".
In the case of withdrawals, Mr Doyle said, Mr Traynor would give him money directly rather than going through the bank.
"If I rang him looking for money he might say `On Tuesday I'll be there at a quarter to one and I'll see you there in the lobby'."
He said he may have collected money from Mr Traynor's Fitzwilliam Square office but he could not remember.
Mr Healy suggested it was a most unusual way of conducting banking business. "There is no bank in Ireland in England or anywhere else for that matter where the general manager or chief executive of the bank walks around and takes money from people at lunch parties or gives money to people at lunch parties or simply when he's passing through the doors of a hotel."
But Mr Doyle said it did not seem unusual at the time.
Mr Doyle noted he would have expected the bank to find a record of the account and, when told that there was no record, said: "I know that now but I did not know that then".
He said the account may have moved from College Green at the time when Mr Traynor retired from day-to-day responsibilities at the bank. "My recollection, I think, is that he transferred the account to London."
He added: "My understanding is that Guinness & Mahon in London is probably Guinness & Mahon Cayman Islands."
Asked to explain this, Mr Doyle said he understood London was the head branch and the bank had branches elsewhere.
Pressing him further, Mr Healy asked: "Where did you get the impression there was a Cayman Islands connection?"
"Maybe from Des. I don't actually recollect," said Mr Doyle.
He noted the statements that were sent to him were originally in Irish pounds but "the eventual currency was dollars".
There was a "fairly substantial" balance on the account when it was closed, Mr Doyle added. However, he could not recall what currency he withdrew the sum in.
Mr Doyle was later questioned on five draft lodgments to Guinness & Mahon bank which had been drawn from various Bank of Ireland accounts at Montrose, Leeson Street and Pembroke branches. All the drafts appeared to have been lodged on January 26th, 1987.
A lodgment of £2,000 cash was made on the same day as part of the same transaction but Mr Doyle could not recall that lodgment.
Mr Doyle agreed with his counsel, Mr Michael Collins SC, that these "drawdowns" were intended to "substantially empty" his Bank of Ireland accounts and allow him to transfer the money to Guinness & Mahon.
Mr Doyle noted he had dealings with Mr Traynor up to his death in 1994 but that the financier did not operate any other bank accounts for him.
On a more general level, Mr Doyle said he never paid any money to Mr Charles Haughey, Mr Michael Lowry or any other politician.
He said he was not aware of the details of a loan taken out by his father for the benefit of Mr Haughey but he was aware his father had dealings with Mr Traynor and Guinness & Mahon.