A RETIRED banker has denied an allegation that he was moved from his position at AIB because he told Luton-based developer Tom Gilmartin about payments to lobbyist Frank Dunlop.
Eddie Kay, former manager at corporate AIB in Ballsbridge, said he was incensed when he heard the allegation because it damaged a reputation "hard earned over 40 years".
AIB bank had lent Mr Gilmartin £8.5 million to buy land for the Quarryvale project, now the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, in 1990. They became stakeholders in the project, along with Cork developer Owen O'Callaghan, when Mr Gilmartin failed to repay the loan on time.
Mr O'Callaghan engaged Mr Dunlop to promote the project and he was paid for his work through Shefran Ltd.
Mr Kay said Mr Gilmartin did not become aware of Shefran Ltd, one of two companies then operated by Mr Dunlop, until June 1992, more than 12 months after £80,000 was paid to the company on behalf of the Quarryvale project.
Mr Kay said he phoned Mr Gilmartin in June to get verbal agreement for a £30,000 payment to Shefran and Mr Gilmartin asked him what Shefran was. He explained that Shefran was a company owned by Mr Dunlop.
Counsel for the tribunal Patricia Dillon SC said Mr Gilmartin had told the tribunal he was kept in the dark about the Shefran payments. He had alleged that after Mr Kay told him who was behind Shefran, he was transferred to another position in the bank.
Mr Kay agreed that he moved from his position in AIB in August 1992, but flatly denied the suggestion that he was transferred unwillingly.
"I volunteered for a particular job and I can prove that if necessary," Mr Kay said.
He said he decided to apply for a different job within the bank after 10 years in the corporate division. The new job was a senior position and offered a substantial salary increase, he said.
Ms Dillon asked Mr Kay why he told Mr Gilmartin about Shefran when he did. Mr Kay said it was probably because he was speaking to him on the phone on the day that particular bill came in.
"I spoke to Mr Gilmartin quite frequently, probably more frequently than I would have liked," he said.
Ms Dillon asked if he had told Mr Gilmartin about the previous payments to Shefran. "I don't think I did," Mr Kay replied.
Ms Dillon pointed out that both Mr Dunlop and Mr O'Callaghan had said the reason payments were being made to Mr Dunlop through Shefran was to hide the fact of Mr Dunlop's involvement from Mr Gilmartin, who did not approve of him. She asked Mr Kay if anyone had explained that to him at the time. Mr Kay said he had never heard of it.
"And it doesn't make much sense because there were payments being made to Frank Dunlop and Associates about the same time, so Mr Gilmartin would have been aware that payments were going to Dunlop," he said.
Mr Kay also told the tribunal that AIB did not want it known that it was a stakeholder in the Quarryvale project. He said the bank was always reluctant to do so because it did not want to antagonise other customers and it did not want to create a precedent.
