A $10,000 (€6,740) donation to Fianna Fáil was never receipted or acknowledged and was not lodged to the party's fundraising account, Des Richardson told the Mahon tribunal yesterday. Fiona Gartlandreports.
The former chief fundraiser for Fianna Fáil said he was given $10,000 by businessman Norman Turner, who wanted to develop land in Dublin, before a Manchester United football match in April or May 1994.
Mr Richardson outlined how he received a call from Mr Turner inviting him to Old Trafford. They had a "liquid lunch" before the match and Mr Turner gave him an envelope containing the money.
There was no one else present at the lunch and Bertie Ahern, then minister for finance, was not at the match on the day. He said he did not count the money until he returned to Dublin.
Counsel for the tribunal, Des O'Neill SC, asked if he was not tempted to "nip into the gents" to see what was in the envelope while he was still in Manchester.
"It wouldn't be good manners now to open the envelope in front of the gentleman who made the donation," Mr Richardson said. "I wasn't getting a present from Santa Claus, it could wait."
He realised the money was in dollars the next day and he put it in his office safe. The dollars were exchanged for punts a month later, Mr Richardson said, at a bureau de change, and the money put back in his office safe.
It was eventually used to pay a bill to Castlemanor Software, a company which supplied prizes for party golf outings and the Galway Races, Mr Richardson said. He said Mr Turner had specifically told him that he did not want a receipt for the money and did not want it acknowledged.
He was asked if he queried Mr Turner about why the money was in dollars. "None of my business, I'd have taken drachma, it didn't matter to me," Mr Richardson said.
Tribunal judge Mary Faherty asked Mr Richardson why he did not lodge the dollars directly into the Fianna Fáil party fundraising account. Mr Richardson said: "it was on the almost instructions of Mr Turner what to do with the cheque and if he had lodged it to that account the auditors would have inquired into where it came from."
Judge Gerald Keys asked if Mr Richardson was saying Mr Turner told him not to put the money into the Fianna Fáil account. "He implied he wanted this money used to pay off a Fianna Fáil bill at my discretion," Mr Richardson replied.
Mr O'Neill read into the record a handwritten note, deciphered for the tribunal by Mr Richardson, which said the $10,000 contribution would be used to offset an Ulster Bank loan for Trent Valley Ltd in Cork, which had been guaranteed by Mr Richardson. The note mentioned the amount of Mr Turner's contribution as well as his name.
Trent Valley Ltd was an enterprise set up by Cork Fianna Fáil supporter Pat O'Callaghan.
It was designed to raise funds for the party, Mr Richardson said, and he agreed to go guarantor because he believed it could work. In the event, the enterprise failed and the loan had to be repaid by the bank. Mr Richardson had considered using the dollar donation to cover the loan, but eventually paid it from his own funds. "I was again putting my hand in my pocket," he said. "It may sound generous, but I am a generous person."
An internal bank memo was also read into the record, written by banker Peter McKenna, which said Mr Richardson had been at pains to point out that the Trent Valley account had no connection whatsoever with the Fianna Fáil party or its fundraising activities. A second bank memo said Mr Richardson had said money to clear the loan would be transferred from an account in Manchester. Mr Richardson said both memos were incorrect.
Mr Richardson's evidence is to continue on Tuesday.