The late Mr Des Traynor controlled and operated Kentford Securities Ltd, the Irish company being investigated as part of the inquiry into the Ansbacher deposits.
Mr Traynor opened accounts with Guinness & Mahon bank in the company's name and then closed them again when the funds deposited in the account had been moved on.
Statements in relation to the accounts were sent by the bank to the offices of Management and Investment Services (MIS) Ltd, formerly of 3 Trinity Street, Dublin 2 and now of 8 Inns Court, Winetavern Street, Dublin 8. MIS is a secretarial services company run by Mr Sam Field-Corbett, a friend and business associate of Mr Traynor and the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey.
The bank statements were addressed to Mr Field-Corbett or to Mr Brendan Hogan, at the MIS offices. Kentford was set up by MIS in 1979 and dissolved in 1995. The original directors were Mr Field-Corbett, Mr Hogan, of Kilbride, Bray, Co Wicklow, and Mr Joseph Kenny, of Carnew St, Dublin 7.
Mr Field-Corbett is a former employee of Haughey Boland, the accountancy firm where Mr Traynor worked before moving to Guinness & Mahon bank in 1970. About six months after Mr Traynor moved to Guinness & Mahon bank, he suggested to Mr Field-Corbett that he establish a company secretarial services business, which he did.
Mr Gerard Ryan, the authorised officer inquiring into the Ansbacher deposits, was appointed to Kentford by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, last month. Details on Kentford were given to the McCracken tribunal last year by Ms Sandra Kells, finance director and company secretary with Guinness & Mahon bank.
Ms Kells gave evidence about another MIS company, now dissolved, called Amiens Investments, which was also controlled by Mr Traynor, saying he would open accounts with the bank under this company's name for specific transactions, and then close them afterwards. The persons "authorised to sign" on behalf of Amiens Investments were Mr Traynor and his secretary, Ms Joan Williams.
The tribunal was told that Kentford was operated in a manner similar to Amiens Investments. Ms Kells said Mr Traynor "frequently gave instructions in relation to Kentford". The tribunal heard that in January, 1990, Kentford applied for and was granted an overdraft facility of £50,000 by Guinness & Mahon. Mr Michael Collins, SC, a barrister for the tribunal, mentioned a note from Mr Traynor dated July 11th, 1990, where he asked for an unspecified amount to be prepared for collection by the bank. Mr Collins then asked about a company called Business Enterprises.
Ms Kells said: "From our knowledge, Business Enterprises was a company controlled by John Stakelum, and we would have requests from Mr Traynor for cheques to be made payable to Business Enterprises." Mr Collins said he thought Mr Padraig Collery, a former Guinness & Mahon banker, also gave instructions in relation to such payments.
After the death of Mr Traynor in 1994, Mr Collery took over the management of withdrawals from the Ansbacher deposits for the benefit of Mr Haughey.
Business Enterprises Ltd managed the payment of the personal expenses of the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey. The funds for this came from accounts in the Ansbacher deposits which held money for the benefit of Mr Haughey. When Business Enterprises needed money for Mr Haughey's expenses, Mr Stakelum, who runs Business Enterprises, contacted Mr Collery, who then organised for the money to be withdrawn from the bank.
Mr Stakelum is a former Haughey Boland accountant. He told The Irish Times he never heard of Kentford Securities. Cheques and drafts which came from Guinness & Mahon were likely to be bank cheques and drafts, and not those of the bank's clients, he pointed out.
