THE LIBERTAS candidate in the North West in the upcoming European elections, Declan Ganley, has declined to comment on his use of offshore companies.
A company based at his home in Tuam, Co Galway, is owned by Golden Bay Holdings Ltd, with an address at Morton House, Charlestown, in the British West Indies.
The shares in Ganley Corporate Management Ltd were formerly held by Mr Ganley but were transferred to the West Indies company in 2005, filings in the Companies Registration Office show.
Mr Ganley has said previously that he uses the company for the development of business projects. The 2007 accounts for the company say Mr Ganley does not have an interest in the company.
The last filed annual return of a UK company called Capital Route Private Hire Ltd, shows the majority of its shares were held by Golden Bay Holdings Ltd.
The company was part of a failed project of Mr Ganley’s to set up a quality car hire service in a number of European capitals. It is now dissolved.
The annual return for the year to January 2007 shows more of the company’s shares were owned by Ganley Corporate Management Ltd. Mr Ganley was a director of Capital Route and is a director of Ganley Corporate Management Ltd.
In the late 1990s Mr Ganley was a director of a UK company called Delderway Ltd, the shares of which were owned by Southern Gulf Holdings Ltd, with an address at Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The purpose of the company is not known. It is now dissolved.
A brother of Mr Ganley’s wife, Delia Ganley (née Paterek), is a director of an Irish company called Delcoast Ltd, with an address at Clonberne, Co Galway. James Paterek, with an address in Planome, New York, is a director of the company along with a builder, Michael McHugh, of Clonberne. Neither Mr Paterek or Mr McHugh could be contacted.
Delcoast’s annual return for the year to May 2008 states it is owned by Golden Bay Holdings Group Ltd, with a registered office in the Isle of Man. The company’s accounts are audited by Michael Cuddy Co, Athlone, auditors to Mr Ganley’s Irish companies and to The Libertas Institute Ltd.
The accounts for the year to the end of December 2007 show the company had shareholders’ funds of €15. The accounts state that neither of the directors had an interest in the company and that it owns a dormant Isle of Man company, Rowanmore Ltd.
The annual return states that Mr Paterek was a director of US companies Cape Success, Comforce Corporation, and Lasting Connections.
Asked for a comment on Golden Bay Holdings and the use of offshore companies, a spokesman for Libertas said Mr Ganley would not be commenting on the matter.
