Mahon Tribunal: A Dublin solicitor says he was misled about the involvement of the offshore company Paisley Park in the purchase of lands at Carrickmines in south Dublin.
Mr Frank Friel, a sole practitioner who formerly worked for Binchys solicitors, also says he was never told businessman Mr Jim Kennedy or solicitor Mr John Caldwell were the owners of Paisley Park at the time Mr Caldwell engaged him to handle the land purchase.
In 1988, Mr Friel registered a caution for Paisley Park on the land, a manoeuvre that effectively warded off other potential buyers of the land. The tribunal is currently investigating the ownership of Paisley Park, which has been implicated in attempts to bribe councillors to rezone the Carrickmines land.
Mr Friel's involvement arose when Mr Caldwell asked him to handle the conveyancing for the transaction while he was on holidays. This occurred three years after he had left Binchys, of which Mr Caldwell was a partner.
On instructions, Mr Friel drew up an affidavit in July 1988, which stated incorrectly that another solicitor, Mr Gerry Charleton, held the lands in trust for Paisley Park. Yesterday, he told Mr Des O'Neill SC, for the tribunal, that he was surprised that he had been asked to draft an affidavit containing incorrect information.
He agreed with counsel that, from what he knew now, he had been used unknowingly to secure an end for Paisley Park, without having full knowledge of the disputes surrounding the company. What had happened was not an accident or fortuitous.
Mr Friel said if it had been planned this way, what had occurred was "unbelievably devious". He said he would have been surprised if Mr Caldwell had revealed to him that he was dealing in land and had an interest in the Carrickmines lands. He would have thought Mr Caldwell would have disclosed this fact. But asked, however, if he was surprised today that Mr Caldwell had not disclosed his interest, the witness replied: "not really". Mr Caldwell's "general approach to life" was to get "from A to Z without digressions".
Mr Friel said he would have done the work as requested without asking questions. He got information on a "need to know" basis. He said he never met Mr Kennedy "in any way, shape or form". He knew nothing about Mr Kennedy until recent times. Mr Caldwell had not told him he was acting for Mr Kennedy. Four years later, Mr Friel was employed again to handle the liquidation of Paisley Park. He said he didn't know why the company was being liquidated, but he assumed it was part of some tax mitigation scheme.
