The former chief executive of CRH, Mr Jim Culliton, and the chairman of Independent News & Media, Dr Tony O'Reilly, are on a list of 120 people associated with Ansbacher (Cayman) Limited or companies linked to it, The Irish Times has learned.
The list, prepared by a State-appointed authorised officer, is believed to contain the names of 120 prominent business people, but the nature of their associations with the various schemes devised by the late Des Traynor is understood to vary.
CRH chairman, Mr Tony Barry, confirmed last week that he held funds in a trust connected with Ansbacher but said the money involved was fully-declared after-tax income.
Mr Culliton has not commented since the publication of a High Court affidavit last Wednesday which said eight of CRH's 15 directors in 1987 were involved with Ansbacher. The Irish Times has made a number attempts to contact him, including a visit and several telephone calls to his home.
In 1987, Mr Culliton was also chairman of the RTE Authority. In the early 1990s, he was asked by the Government to chair a group which developed an industrial strategy for the State. Mr Culliton is due to appear before the DIRT inquiry at the Dail Public Accounts Committee today in relation to his time as chairman of Allied Irish Bank.
Asked about Dr O'Reilly's inclusion on the list, a spokesman for him said he could not comment because Dr O'Reilly does not know whether or not his name appears in the confidential report by the the authorised officer, Mr Gerard Ryan.
Dr Tony O'Reilly said yesterday he does not, nor ever did, have an Ansbacher deposit account, directly or indirectly.
In a statement, Dr O'Reilly said he had not been advised by the authorities that his name appears on any list associated with the Ansbacher accounts.
Dr O'Reilly has not been questioned directly by Mr Ryan, his spokesman said.
Dr O'Reilly added that he has not been a tax resident in Ireland since he joined the US food group HJ Heinz in 1969. No question of tax evasion could therefore arise, he said. This status allows him to have banking relationships in any part of the world without any Irish tax consequences arising.
However, in a statement last June, Dr O'Reilly said he had given information to Mr Ryan and to the Moriarty tribunal relating to two loans he received from Guinness & Mahon in Dublin in the 1970s. These loans were repaid in the 1980s.
A representative of Dr O'Reilly subsequently requested a meeting with both Mr Ryan and with the tribunal and "all queries raised were answered in full".
Dr O'Reilly's June statement said no further questions had been raised by either Mr Ryan or the tribunal.
In his June statement, Dr O'Reilly said he "has had, and continues to have, loan facilities from Ansbacher Bank (Cayman)".
It is understood that Dr O'Reilly used the loans to pay for shares in a US publicly quoted company and that these had been fully disclosed to the authorities there.
