A former executive with GE Capital Woodchester Bank has denied misleading one of his seniors about a £420,000 sterling loan he granted in 1999.
Mr Michael Tunney told the tribunal that if he gave Mr Michael Cullen, a senior executive of the bank, the impression that Mr Denis O'Brien was aware of the transaction, he should not have done so. The loan was given to a company of which Mr Michael Lowry was a director. However, Mr Tunney said he always understood it was going to Mr Aidan Phelan, a financial adviser to Mr O'Brien, who approached him for the loan. Counsel for the tribunal, Mr Jerry Healy SC, asked Mr Tunney why would anyone say Mr O'Brien was connected with the transaction if it wasn't true. Mr Tunney said a lot of Mr Phelan's strength was due to his link with Mr O'Brien.
Mr Tunney said he was shocked when he heard from Mr Cullen earlier this year that Mr Lowry was connected with the transaction. He said Mr O'Brien was equally shocked. Counsel asked if he contacted Mr Phelan about this new information. Mr Tunney said he did not. Mr Tunney said he was on a skiing holiday with a party that included Mr O'Brien in March 2001 when he talked over the telephone to Mr Ian Wohlman in the bank's Dublin office. Notes of the call taken by Mr Wohlman said: "He [Mr Tunney] also stated that we should not worry about the credit as Denis was behind it." Mr Healy asked what he meant by this. Mr Tunney said he was told the previous month by Mr Phelan that "Denis is behind me".
Counsel interjected: "So Denis O'Brien was behind this transaction?" Mr Tunney replied: "You will have to ask Aidan Phelan."
Asked if he believed Mr Phelan that Mr O'Brien was behind him, he said he didn't know but didn't believe Mr O'Brien was behind the transaction.
Counsel suggested that Mr Tunney lied to Mr Wohlman when he told him Mr O'Brien was behind the credit. Mr Tunney did not accept this.
While on holiday, Mr Tunney received a call from the bank indicating Mr O'Brien's name was connected to a loan that went to Mr Lowry. Mr Tunney said when he told Mr O'Brien this, he told Mr Tunney he knew nothing about it.