Assets managed by a Cayman trust for the family of the late Mr Des Traynor were disposed of after Mr Traynor's death without the family being told or receiving any money. Colm Keena reports
The family was told two years ago that Mr Traynor's long-time associate and Cayman banker, the late Mr John Furze, had disposed of Hamilton Ross Co Ltd, a Cayman Islands company owned by a trust set up by Mr Traynor. Mr Traynor died in 1994 and Mr Furze died in 1997.
Last night, Mr Barry Benjamin, a Cayman friend and associate of Mr Furze, said he rejected any suggestion that Mr Furze "made off with any of Mr Traynor's money".
Mr Traynor used Hamilton Ross when looking after relatively small deposit accounts belonging to Irish clients, including the former Taoiseach Mr Charles Haughey and the former Fianna Fáil TD Mr Denis Foley.
In a previously unreported section of the lengthy Ansbacher Report, the inspectors examined the ownership of Hamilton Ross.
They found the company belonged to a trust set up in 1993 by Mr Traynor. The trustee was Mr Furze and the beneficiaries were Mr Traynor's family. However, Hamilton Ross was disposed of by Mr Furze without the Traynor family's knowledge."The date of the disposal and the price paid, if any, are unknown," said the inspectors. "The secret nature of this transaction is a lesson to those who entrust their wealth to offshore trusts."
Mr Benjamin said he had never seen documents which suggested Hamilton Ross belonged to anyone other than Mr Furze. "I find the suggestion that he might have made off with any of their [the Traynor's] money laughable."