The Moriarty tribunal has been told by Mr Charles Haughey that his financial adviser, the late Des Traynor, told him in 1983 that the late P.V. Doyle, a hotelier, was providing financial assistance. This evidence is an exception from the norm, as Mr Haug hey has to date said Mr Traynor would not tell him from where the money he was using to support Mr Haughey was coming. Asked by Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, Mr Haughey yesterday said he did not know why Mr Traynor chose to reveal the identity of this particular benefactor. As far as he could remember, it was the only time Mr Traynor chose to reveal a benefactor's identity.
He told the tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Moriarty, that he would have thought "assistance" being provided was most likely to be a "donation".
In fact what occurred was more complicated. Mr Traynor organised two loans from Guinness & Mahon bank for Mr Doyle, of £120,000 in 1983 and £50,000 in 1985, which were used to fund Mr Haughey's lifestyle.
A number of lodgements were made to the accounts over the years, part servicing the loans. One, in April 1985, for £52,495, came from an account controlled by Mr Traynor and to which a cheque from a Saudi Arabian businessman, Mr Mahmoud Fustok, had earlier been lodged.
In July 1987 a lodgement of £45,000 was made, seemingly with cash. Other lodgements were also made. Mr Haughey said he had no knowledge of the loans being taken out and knew nothing about the lodgements.
Mr Doyle died on February 6th, 1988. On February 26th, 1988, the two loan accounts were cleared with a transfer from another account controlled by Mr Traynor, who, however, did not inform Mr Doyle's family of this.
At a meeting with some of the late hotelier's closest colleagues, Mr Traynor told them the loans were outstanding and though the loans had been used for Mr Haughey's benefit, there wasn't "a hope in hell" that Mr Haughey would be able to pay them off.
On March 23rd, 1988, the Doyle holding company issued a cheque for £150,230, which Mr Traynor lodged to the account he controlled. The holding company was later reimbursed from Mr Doyle's estate. Including the interest payments, the total expended on the accounts was £301,138.
Mr Traynor was a friend and close financial adviser to the Doyle group and to Mr Doyle. Mr Haughey did not agree with Mr Coughlan that Mr Traynor had acted in any way dishonourably in his dealings with the Doyle family. Mr Haughey said he met Mr Fustok a number of times in the mid-1980s and once had him to lunch in Kinsealy. Mr Fustok, an extremely wealthy individual, had significant bloodstock farms in France and the US and Mr Haughey said he tried to convince him to locate some of his business here. However, the Saudi businessman chose not to do so.
Dr John O'Connell introduced Mr Fustok to Mr Haughey. In February 1985, during a meeting in London, Mr Fustok gave Dr O'Connell £50,000 which he said he owed to the then leader of the opposition. Dr O'Connell passed the money on. Mr Haughey said he believed the money was in payment for a yearling, the purchase of which, he suggested, was by way of a "gesture" from Mr Fustok, following his rejection of Mr Haughey's overtures on behalf of the State.