Callely got half total raised in donations in 2005

No suggestion of impropriety. It is in the paper for a reason though.

Almost half of the money raised in donations by Irish politicians last year was donated to the former junior minister, Ivor Callely, who resigned on Budget Day, according to figures released yesterday by the Standards in Public Office Commission.

The total disclosed by all politicians came to €147,526, with Mr Callely receiving €69,600. Fianna Fail politicians accounted for €136,962 of the total, with Fine Gael declaring €5,824, Labour €3,740 and one Independent TD getting €1,000.

The amount raised by Mr Callely in a non-election year is more than four times the amount he will be able to spend in the next general election. The spending limit for candidates in his three-seat constituency of Dublin North Central is €25,394.

Almost half of that allocation will be taken up by the Fianna Fail national campaign, so Mr Callely will be allowed to spend only in the region of €15,000.

The former junior minister disclosed more than 40 donations in 2005 worth between €750 and €2,500, the bulk of them being individual donations made at a golf classic.

By law, individual donations valued at more than €634.87 in terms of money, property, goods or services have to be disclosed to the commission.

Businessman reluctant to pay Dunlop £25,000

I would be too…

Leading businessman Joe Moran has told the tribunal he only reluctantly agreed to pay £25,000 in fees to Frank Dunlop to lobby for the rezoning of his land in north County Dublin.

Mr Moran said his brother, Colm, and a business partner, Michael Hughes, agreed the fees with Mr Dunlop at a meeting in 1992 and he was informed several days later.

“I said there was no way we should have agreed that.” However, his colleagues told him this was “the going rate”.

At that stage, they had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on “architects and advisers and everybody else” in trying to develop the lands at Lissenhall, near Swords.

He eventually agreed to pay half upfront and half when Mr Dunlop delivered. “If you want it done, you have to pay it.”

Asked about his contact with Mr Dunlop, Mr Moran replied: “Never met him, never spoke to him, never saw him.”

He denied an intervention by former minister Ray Burke was pivotal to a decision by him to apply for industrial zoning on the land. He had already decided to seek industrial zoning when Mr Burke, at a meeting in the Burlington Hotel in December 1989, advised him to follow this course.

FG councillor got €20,000 for helping with land problem

What troubles me is that they know there is a potential conflict of interest, they just don’t seem to want to admit it.

A Fine Gael county councillor was paid €20,000 for her help in solving a road access problem for a landowner in north County Dublin, the tribunal has heard.

Cllr Anne Devitt received the fee in 2002 for negotiating access to the land across property owned by the Eastern Health Board. At the time, she was a member of the EHB, the tribunal heard.

Details of the payment to Ms Devitt emerged yesterday during evidence given by businessman Joe Moran, whose company Rayband Ltd owned the land at Lissenhall near Swords. In 1993, Ms Devitt signed a motion while on Dublin County Council to rezone Rayband’s land for industry.

Paul Cullen of the Irish Times continues:

Yesterday, the inquiry heard that Mr Moran sought to gain access to the road through the EHB land because his property was landlocked. The company paid Ms Devitt the money in June 2002, after it agreed access through the EHB land in return for building ambulance and day-patient facilities.

Mr Moran said Ms Devitt had provided professional advice and legal services. She had portrayed herself as someone who could solve the problem. She had a reputation for solving problems.

Judge Gerald Keys said Ms Devitt was a politician and there was a potential conflict of interest.

Mr Moran replied that Ms Devitt didn’t do anything wrong.

Judge Keys: “Did it not cross your mind there was something questionable about being prepared to pay a substantial sum of money to a politician who was a member of the council, who would be close to the planning department, who was already instrumental in voting on zoning motions and also a member of the health board, which could come to your assistance?” Mr Moran: “No.”

Judge Keys: “Did it not dawn on you there could be a serious conflict of interest and that the public perception could be that what you were trying to do was to buy her?” Mr Moran: “Absolutely not.” Everything was above board and there were no under the counter payments.

He agreed that Ms Devitt, who is due to give evidence to the inquiry tomorrow, never provided him with written advice.

DWL ordered to hand over aquatic centre

After all the controversy, Dublin Waterworld are being forced out of the National Aquatic Centre.

Dublin Waterworld Ltd must hand over possession of the €62 million National Aquatic Centre on April 28th next to the State company which owns it, the High Court has directed.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan yesterday deferred to April 25th his decision on any application by DWL for a stay on the possession order. He also adjourned to the same date the issue of liability for the costs of the legal proceedings brought against DWL, which are expected to be more than €2 million.

Costs were sought by Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Ltd, the State company which owns the centre, against DWL, a shelf company with no assets and registered offices at Ballyvard, Tralee. DWL contends it is entitled to costs of various aspects of the proceedings.

Following an application yesterday by Denis McDonald SC, for CSID, DWL undertook to continue operating the centre to April 28th. It also undertook not to remove any equipment from the centre and to retain membership and other relevant records.

Claims of mistreatment at interview denied by garda

Joan Gallager is the only Garda left who has stuck to her original story in relation to the questioning of Katrina Brolly.

Garda Joan Gallagher denied there was mistreatment of Katrina Brolly during an interview at Letterkenny Garda station in 1996 in connection with the death of cattle-dealer Richie Barron.

She denied she pulled Ms Brolly’s hair, that there was abusive language by gardaa­ or that post-mortem photographs of Mr Barron had been shown. These allegations were made by Ms Brolly and by Det Garda John Dooley in a dramatic change to his earlier statement denying all claims.

Det Garda Dooley is on sick leave and is recovering from a severe bout of depression.

Det Sgt John White also issued a statement last week changing his evidence and admitting his part in mistreating the suspects. He could not remember a hair-pulling incident, but had no reason to doubt Det Garda Dooley. He could not identify at which interview the photos were shown.

Garda Gallagher said she was in at the second of three interviews with Ms Brolly. She said the events alleged did not take place. Det Garda Dooley was a friend of hers. She had known him for 13 years and he was an upright and honest man.

“I believe John Dooley believes what he is saying and doesn’t believe he is telling lies, but it didn’t happen. I believe John Dooley believes 100 per cent what he’s saying, it’s not out of malice or out to get anybody,” she said.

Tribunal counsel Anthony Barr SC asked about Det Garda Dooley’s statement that he held up postmortem photographs to Ms Brolly. Garda Gallagher said it did not happen.

Mr Barr asked why three people – Ms Brolly, Det Garda Dooley and Det Sgt White – all said it happened. Garda Gallagher replied: “I have no idea.”

She agreed there was probably bad language as it happened every day. Another claim that lights were switched on and off were also denied by Garda Gallagher. She also did not recall any remarks about Ms Brolly being told her children would be taken away from her.

“What I said was the truth,” she said. “While I was there, there was no mistreatment.”

The tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Frederick Morris, asked: “Why do you think Det Garda Dooley is imagining all this?” Garda Gallagher replied that she did not know.

She was not suggesting that his recent illness had anything to do with it, but maybe it did.

The chairman asked if she had any theory of her own.

“My honest feeling is it happened at another interview as I know it didn’t happen in the one I was in,” she said.

Developer challenges Mahon inquiry

Yet another legal challenge, worth quoting in full because of its signifcance to the workings of the Plannin Tribunal:

The High Court has begun hearing a bid by Cork property developer Owen O’Callaghan to prevent the Mahon tribunal from further inquiring into, or making any findings on allegations against him, by developer Tom Gilmartin.

The tribunal proposes to continue those inquiries in its Quarryvale Two module.

The case has been brought by Mr O’Callaghan; John Deane, a solicitor and partner in O’Callaghan Properties; Riga Ltd of Lavitts Quay, Cork, and Barkhill Ltd, which developed the Liffey Valley shopping centre in Dublin.

The tribunal is opposing the application and has denied the allegations of bias. It also denies it gave Mr Gilmartin a special or privileged status. The case before Mr Justice Thomas Smyth is expected to last two weeks.

Mr O’Callaghan claims Mr Gilmartin made “entirely untrue” allegations in private which were never mentioned in evidence by Mr Gilmartin at the tribunal’s public sessions and were concealed by the tribunal.

It had ignored “glaring” inconsistencies between Mr Gilmartin’s private statements to its lawyers and his evidence on oath, Mr O’Callaghan claims.

The tribunal denies that it offered immunity to Mr Gilmartin as an inducement to get him to testify against Mr O’Callaghan. It contends such a claim indicates a misunderstanding of the nature of the tribunal.

The tribunal says it had been openly stated by its counsel that Mr Gilmartin had been granted immunity from the DPP, on foot of a request from the tribunal, which was subject to his giving truthful testimony.

Mr O’Callaghan claims the alleged bias against him is evident from the tribunal’s failure to disclose statements made by Mr Gilmartin to tribunal lawyers which were inconsistent with Mr Gilmartin’s evidence to the tribunal.

The existence of those statements became known during cross-examination of Mr Gilmartin but the tribunal had refused to disclose them. Last July the High Court ordered the tribunal to disclose the documents, later upheld by the Supreme Court.

In the Supreme Court last November, tribunal counsel conceded that the documents had been wrongly withheld from Mr O’Callaghan and that had they been made available to him in March 2004 when Mr Gilmartin was giving his evidence, they could have been used to ground a judicial review application.

Senior counsel Paul Gallagher read a number of documents outlining the background to the action. Among the claims is that the tribunal was protecting Mr Gilmartin by withholding material which was inconsistent with Mr Gilmartin’s testimony.

It is also claimed that the documents disclosed to Mr O’Callaghan as a result of the High Court order made against the tribunal showed “glaring” and “significant” inconsistencies between Mr Gilmartin’s private statements to tribunal lawyers and his evidence to the tribunal.

Payment was to 'ensure' planning permission

The allegations of Frank Dunlop continue:

The owners of rezoned land at Swords, Co Dublin, made a £12,000 payment to lobbyist Frank Dunlop to “ensure” planning permission was obtained on the land, the tribunal has heard.

This reference to Mr Dunlop’s role is contained in the financial records of Rayband Ltd, the company which owned the land at Lissenhall. Businessman Joe Moran and his family largely owned Rayband.

Yesterday, Donal Lynch, the company secretary of Rayband, who prepared the company’s books for auditing, said that the choice of words used to describe Mr Dunlop’s role was probably his.

He understood that Mr Dunlop had provided professional services for the company and he, in preparing the books, was describing what the lobbyist was doing.

Mr Dunlop alleges that he bribed three councillors to have the Lissenhall land rezoned for industry in 1992. He also claims that the owners of the land were aware that money would have to be paid to councillors to achieve this objective. The owners of Rayband deny any knowledge of the payments allegedly made by Mr Dunlop.

Former AIB executives settle with Revenue for €323,313

Be with AIB.

Four former top management figures in AIB, the State’s largest bank, have made tax settlements with the Revenue for a total of €323,313 as a result of their dealings with an offshore investment scheme that breached tax law.

They include the bank’s former chief executive and former Irish Stock Exchange chairman, Gerry Scanlan, who is a non-executivedirector of the fruit importer Fyffes.Former Irish Life & Permanent chairman RoyDouglas made a settlement, as did Diarmuid Moore, former AIB director of strategy, and the estate of the late Patrick Dowling, former AIB deputy chief executive.

All were investors in Faldor Ltd, a British Virgin Islands company managed by AIB Investment Managers, whose affairs were made public by AIB in May 2004 soon after the bank became embroiled in a scandal about over-charging in its foreign exchange unit.

Later that year, the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority said Faldor was a beneficiary of “inappropriate favourable deal allocations, by way of artificial deals” worth some €48,000 from the funds of AIB Investment Managers. The regulator said then that it had “no evidence to indicate that the beneficiaries of Faldor influenced or were aware of these allocations”.

AIB said yesterday that it could not comment, beyond saying that the settlements related to “followup action” by Revenue following the regulator’s investigation. Revenue disclosed the Faldor settlements in its defaulters list for October-December last year, which included the names of 148 individuals and companies who paid a total of €28.11 million to settle their tax liabilities. Among those who made settlements was former Kerry GAA star Jack O’Shea, who paid €19,419 in respect of underdeclared income tax on foot of an offshore assets investigation. Unpublished settlements brought the total collected from defaulters to €125.26 million.

In relation to Faldor, Mr Scanlan paid €206,010, comprising €103,120 in underdeclared income tax and capital gains tax and €102,890 in interest and penalties.

The Irish Times was unable yesterday to contact Mr Scanlan and a spokesman for Fyffes declined to comment. Fyffes regarded the settlement as a “personal matter” for Mr Scanlan, he said.

US taxmen look to Ireland as alleged scams are revealed

This is something that has gone largely under the radar of the Irish media establishment. Perhaps the hacks think that all that corruption is in the past. It is certainly not. Sean O’Driscoll had a good piece on this, an exception to the rule. Highlighted bits too.

United States federal prosecutors in New York are continuing to investigate the use of Irish companies following one of the alleged biggest tax scams ever recorded in US history.

It has emerged that a company called Sligo (2000) Co was allegedly used by accountants KPMG to shelter tens of millions of dollars for wealthy US investors.

The US attorney’s office in southern Manhattan has indicted two senior accountants and a lawyer attached to KPMG for setting up bogus currency trades through Sligo (2000) Co Inc, which allegedly ran a tax “sham” through a Dublin-based company called Epsolon Ltd.

One Dallas financier and his wife put $39 million into the scheme. The couple claimed they did not have to pay US taxes on an Irish company but then allegedly reimported the money to the US just six days later, claiming a net loss for tax purposes.

They are also alleged to have converted their Irish company, Epsolon, to an American partnership in the same week.

According to records in the Companies Office in Dublin, Epsolon was incorporated on November 6th, 2000, but was dissolved on October 29th, 2004. Two directors are listed: Franklin Montgomery of 25 West 54th Street in New York and Keith Tucker of Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas, Texas. The registered office in Dublin was 2 Argyle Square, Morehampton Road, Donnybrook.

The Irish Times has been shown e-mails from one lawyer indicted in the scheme in which he allegedly tried to have the Irish shelter approved by his law firm without properly assessing whether it was legal.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US equivalent of the Revenue Commissioners, now claims that the couple who benefited from the scheme, Mr Tucker, a Dallas-based financier, and his wife, Laura Bynum Tucker, owe $21.7 million in unpaid tax and penalties for involvement in the scheme.

KPMG, the fourth largest accounting firm in the US, has admitted that it was involved in setting up illegal schemes through which wealthy clients avoided over $11.2 billion in taxes.

The three indicted for using Irish companies in the scheme were at the very top of KPMG’s tax service, including the former vice-chairman of KPMG’s tax services, a KPMG tax partner and a partner at the New York legal giant Brown & Wood.

While federal prosecutors in New York prepare to bring the three to trial in New York in September, their clients have sought to distance themselves from any wrongdoing.

In a petition filed at the tax court in Washington DC, the Tuckers have sought to overturn the demand from the IRS for $15.5 million in unpaid taxes, plus $6.2 million in penalties.

The IRS has insisted that the Tuckers must paid the tax and fines after deducting over $39 million from their tax bill in 2000 based on what the IRS claimed in court documents was a “sham” in which the Tuckers claimed to have lost tens of millions on currency trading though the Dublin company, Epsolon, but which was really a front for a tax-avoidance scheme.

In its petition to the tax court in Washington DC, the Tuckers say Sligo (2000) bought 99 per cent of Epsolon Ltd from a company called Cumberland Investment Ltd on December 18th, 2000.

Three days later Epsolon bought $156 million of “multiple foreign currency options” from an investment company and sold them back to the same investment company on the same day.

The Tuckers’ petition argued that the sale of the foreign currency options resulted in Epsolon gaining $51.26 million, which they claimed was subject only to Irish tax law.

However, six days after that sale Epsolon was converted to a partnership in the US, liquidating its Irish assets and recording a $39.5 million tax-deductible loss. The IRS claims this was nothing but a “sham” to avoid paying US tax.

The lawyer who approved the scheme, R.J. Ruble, a former partner of KPMG’s legal advisors Brown & Wood law firm, was “centrally involved” in the preparation of the Dublin scheme, according to the indictment.

The US attorney’s office claims that in a letter on June 28th, 2001, Mr Ruble told the Tuckers that the Irish scheme was the best way for them to avoid tax. Prosecutors have also obtained an e-mail that Mr Ruble sent in which he said that he would “need to write opinions to Sligo (2000) Company Inc”. Mr Ruble has since been dismissed by the firm.

Others indicted for the Dublin scheme include Jeffrey Eischeid, who was head of KPMG’s “innovative strategies group”, and Jeffrey Stein, who was vice-chairman of KPMG tax services.

KPMG has admitted that it was involved in a massive illegal tax scheme for years. It agreed in August 2005 to pay $456 million to the US government to avoid criminal prosecution, and admitted that it set up illegal tax shelters which allowed wealthy investors avoid $11.2 billion in taxes.

Seventeen KPMG executives and two other people are under indictment, and are expected to go to trial in September.

Last month, it emerged that President Bush’s former Irish ambassador, Richard Egan, invested $62 million in a KPMG shelter that the IRS described as an “economic sham”.

Mr Egan, who strongly denies any wrongdoing, is suing the IRS to recover the $62 million that was taken from him, and has argued in court documents that he was working on the advice of an unnamed “international accounting firm”.

Mr Egan had hoped to avoid having his name linked to the KPMG lawsuit but a New Jersey judge last month ruled that the media could name 61 investors, including Mr Egan, who are taking a lawsuit against KPMG.

Mr Egan, the billionaire owner of the EMC computer company, invested the $62 million with KPMG as soon as he became Irish ambassador, according to the IRS.

Mr Egan, one of President Bush’s most successful fundraisers, was Irish ambassador for just 15 months before he resigned.

Ireland remains the ‘Wild West’ of corporate regulation. Oh and as far as I know KPMG are still the independent adjudicators of the National Lottery. Would you trust them?

Senior garda in dramatic reverse of evidence

A Garda broke and changed his story. Up until now John White has denied mistreating two women while they were in custody. He has withdrawn his denial. This follows John Dooley’s breaking last week. If White lied about this, did he also lie about the McBreartys? He is also blaming his superiors for the way suspects were treated. White did not admit to all the claims made by the two women.

It is also alleged, amongst other things, that Detective Sargeant White paid a man £200 to stay in a McBrearty’s bar late in order for the Gardai to prosecute.

A senior Co Donegal garda has dramatically changed his evidence to the Morris tribunal by admitting for the first time that he mistreated suspects during interviews.

In an unexpected turn of events, Det Sgt John White faxed a new statement to the tribunal last Saturday in which he reversed earlier denials that he mistreated two women interviewees, Ra³isa­n McConnell and Katrina Brolly, in December 1996.

Ms McConnell and Ms Brolly, who were interrogated at Letterkenny Garda station during the Garda investigation into the death of cattle-dealer Richie Barron, allege that they were abused and assaulted.

Sgt White denied the allegations when investigated by the Garda Complaints Board in 1998 and he had continued to reject them in his contact with the tribunal until now.

Sgt White’s new statement emerged at yesterday’s sitting of the tribunal. Paul McDermott SC, for the tribunal, said it was an important development which had enormous significance for the evidence the tribunal was about to hear.

The women allege:

Katrina Brolly said she had her hair pulled out and was subjected to crude sexual references during her 12-hour detention at Letterkenny Garda station in December 1996. Ms Brolly broke down in the witness-box at one point as she recalled how gardaa­ threatened to put her children into care.

The tribunal yesterday began hearings into the detention of 12 people, starting with Ms Brolly, who were detained during the investigation of Mr Barron’s death. Gardaa­ at the time treated the death as a murder investigation, while the tribunal has since determined that he probably died in a hit-and-run accident.

Ms Brolly told the tribunal that Garda John Dooley and Det Sgt John White both called her a “lying bastard” and used a lot of bad language. However, she agreed that none of the interviewing gardaa­ had subjected her to pushing or shoving or to any other physical contact.

She was arrested after travelling to Letterkenny to visit her sister, Ra³isa­n McConnell, who had been arrested earlier. Between about 8pm and 8am, she was interrogated by a number of gardaa­ in separate interviews. At one point, her husband, Eunan, came to visit her, but she said Det Sgt White told him “that lying bastard is getting no visitors”. At various times, different gardaa­ told her she would spend seven or 14 years in jail unless she confessed, while another garda said she would be minding Ms McConnell’s children when she was jailed.

She said Garda Joan Gallagher gave her hair “a good sharp pull” on two occasions. Ms Brolly said she believed her hair had been pulled out, but she acknowledged that she did not see any hair on the floor. Garda Gallagher was behind her and the lights had been dimmed.

She was told “Richie Barron will be back to haunt you tonight”, to which Ms Brolly replied: “I wish to God he would and he’d tell us what happened.”

At one point, Garda Dooley told her she was too comfortable and ordered her to stand up. Her seat was pushed away and photos of Mr Barron’s body were thrust in her face. She said the photos showed wounds on Mr Barron’s face and hand, but she blanked them out.

Garda Dooley took a slip of paper from his back pocket and asked if she knew the name of the person named on it. When she said she did, he replied: “Did you know that Mark McConnell [her brother-in-law] is riding her?”

Ms Brolly said she told the gardaa­ she did not believe what they were telling her. She said she was totally shocked at what happened. She had stood up for herself on the night but said after she got out “I totally went to bits”.

Asked if she had considered making a false confession to end the ordeal, she said: “I was always brought up to tell the truth. There was no way I was going to tell lies just to save myself.”

Because of the nature of the Tribunal process, we are unlikely to see any criminal prosecutions relating to this.