Dr Michael Smurfit told the tribunal the only time Mr Charles Haughey asked him to deal on a personal basis with Mr Des Traynor was when he was asked to make a Fianna Fail donation which was transferred to an Ansbacher account in London.
Mr Jerry Healy SC, for the tribunal, said inquiries into Fianna Fail funds had led to contributions to that party by Mr Mark Kavanagh on behalf of the Customs House Docks Development company. Mr Kavanagh had told the tribunal he had contributed £100,000 to Fianna Fail, consisting of a cheque for £25,000 for the Brian Lenihan fund and for three drafts of £25,000 each. One draft was to be used at Mr Haughey's discretion and £50,000 was to go to Fianna Fail central funds. In Fianna Fail's records, the cheque for £25,000 was found.
The tribunal inquired into the remaining £50,000. In Fianna Fail's records there was a note of an anonymous contribution of £50,000, dated July 3rd, 1989.
In another document, the identity of that anonymous contribution showed a £50,000 contribution in the name of Dr Michael Smurfit.
Mr Leahy said Dr Smurfit did not make any contribution to Fianna Fail by way of a draft for £50,000 drawn on Guinness & Mahon in 1989. This particular draft for £50,000 was purchased using two other drafts each for £25,000 which had been given to Mr Haughey according to evidence by Mr Kavanagh. He said the last time Dr Smurfit gave evidence he had said he made a donation to Fianna Fail by way of a transfer of the sterling equivalent of £60,000 on June 14th, 1989. That transfer was from an account of the John Jefferson Smurfit Monagasque Foundation to an account at Henry Ansbacher & Co Ltd in London.
Mr Leahy asked if Dr Smurfit was saying that the £60,000 payment was solicited by Mr Haughey. "I believe so, yes," Dr Smurfit said. Mr Leahy said most ordinary contributions to political parties came from the foundation. This was the only payment that went by way of transfer. "So that when Mr Haughey requested you to deal with Desmond Traynor in relation to the payment details, he must have meant there were arrangements that would go beyond the type of thing that could be dealt with on the telephone?"
Dr Smurfit replied: "I don't know, he just said Des is going to handle this for me . . ."
He could not recall if he contacted Mr Traynor, or Mr Traynor contacted him. Asked if he regarded this as in any way unusual, Dr Smurfit said: "I was dealing with somebody who in my opinion was a close personal friend, a man of probity and it never occurred to me that it was ever anything unusual. I think the purpose was to cloud it and make it as discreet as possible," Dr Smurfit said.
Asked if he regarded Mr Traynor as someone with an official role in Fianna Fail, Dr Smurfit said: "No, I regarded Mr Traynor very highly."
Asked if in this instance he regarded these instructions as being from a person with an official role in Fianna Fail, he said: "In this particular instance, it was the only time Mr Haughey asked me to deal on a personal basis with Mr Traynor." Mr Leahy asked when he became aware his money had been transferred into an offshore account in London.
"I said to you before I only became aware of it when I got inquiries from the tribunal, but it is possible I was aware of it before and I asked for an explanation but I can't be sure," said Dr Smurfit.