A DECISION to provide family members and business associates of a Saudi banker with Irish passports in 1990, in return for an investment of £20 million in the State, emanated from the office of the then Taoiseach, it is understood.
There was no comment available yesterday from the then Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, his Minister for Justice, Mr Ray Burke, or from the Department of Justice on a report that an inquiry was taking place into the issuing of the passports.
A weekend newspaper report suggested that instead of a £20 million investment taking place, only £5 million had been invested in the horse industry.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Fianna Fail said Mr Burke's only role was "to sign the naturalisation document having received a recommendation and he did that." The spokesman said Mr Burke had no role in determining that any subsequent investment took place.
Asked where the recommendation for naturalisation came from, the spokesman said: "I understand that the recommendation would have come from the Taoiseach's office. That was the procedure at that time."
The report suggested that an English firm of solicitors acting for the Saudi banker, Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfooz, contacted the Government in August, 1990 indicating he had up to £100 million stg to invest in Ireland.
Further contact was reported to have been made on behalf of the sheikh through the Dublin accountancy firm, Haughey Boland.
Passports were issued in December, 1990 to 11 members of the Mahfooz family.
According to the report the decision to grant naturalisation was implemented within four months and the passports were handed to Sheikh Mahfooz in December, 1990. Details of the naturalisation certificates were published in Iris Oifigiuil in September 1992.
It lists the adult recipients of the passports as Naylah A.M. Kaki, Abdulrahman Khalid S. Bin Mahfooz, Omaiah Y.A. Kaki, Haroon Rashid Kahlon, Ismet Kahlon, Ahsan Ahmed Kahlon; and the minors as Sultan Khalid S. Bin Mahfooz, Eman Kh. S. Bin Mahfooz, Dania A.H. Abdulsamad and Heba A. Kh. Bin Mahfooz.
Controversy surrounded the granting of citizenship to family members of another Arab businessman, Khalad Sabih Masri, in 1992, when it emerged that the Masri investment of £1.1 million had been made in the Longford pet food firm, C&D Foods, the firm run by the family of the then Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds.