Further evidence of the closeness which existed between the Haughey family and the multi-millionaire financier Mr Dermot Desmond emerged yesterday at the Moriarty tribunal during the evidence of Mr Conor Haughey.
Mr Haughey, former managing director of Feltrim Mining plc (now Minmet), said that in 1990 Mr Desmond, then chairman and chief executive of National City Brokers (NCB), sometimes gave him advice in relation to his exploration company. Mr Haughey said he "valued his advice highly".
At the time Davy Stockbrokers - not NCB - was acting as advisers to Feltrim so Mr Desmond was presumably acting in a personal capacity. The financier made a lot of money from Feltrim.
In a statement to the media last year, Mr Desmond said he had invested £275,000 in Feltrim, had sold shares for £744,000, and still held shares worth £112,000. In other words, he had made a profit of more than £500,000.
In the same statement, Mr Desmond said a loan of £75,546 he had made to Conor Haughey in 1990/1991 for the refurbishment of the yacht, the Celtic Mist, had been "settled". However, Mr Haughey said yesterday not a penny of the money has been repaid.
Mr Haughey said it was only when he was contacted by the former government inspector, Mr John Glackin, in April 1992, that he learned the money for the yacht had come from an Isle of Man company called Freezone Investments.
He knew in April 1992 that Freezone was being mentioned in relation to the Telecom scandal, where a site in Balls bridge, Dublin, was sold to Telecom for £9.4 million, even though it had been sold a year previously for just £4 million.
Mr Glackin informed Mr Haughey in his letter that he had established that some of the proceeds from the Telecom sale had gone into an account in the name of Freezone. The funds advanced to Mr Haughey had come from the same account. Mr Haughey told the tribunal he was "very concerned" when he learned about this.
After the fact of the Telecom site dealings emerged in 1991, Mr Desmond stepped down as chairman of Aer Rianta and as executive chairman of NCB. Mr Haughey said yesterday he did not see Mr Desmond as often after the Telecom scandal began, as he had done prior to then.
Mr Charles Haughey bought the Celtic Mist for £120,000 in January 1989. Ownership was later put into the name of Larchfield Securities, the unlimited company which holds assets on behalf of his four children.
Mr Haughey still pays the insurance premium for the yacht. He regularly sails in it. Mr Conor Haughey said yesterday one of the reasons for Mr Desmond's generosity may have been that he did not want to see the Taoiseach of the day sailing in an inadequate yacht.
Mr Haughey as Taoiseach discussed the matter with his son before Conor made the approach to Mr Desmond which resulted in the £75,546 being paid. During April 1990 £30,000 was paid.
On May 7th, 1990, Telecom bought the former Johnston Mooney & O'Brien bakery site for £9.4 million from a company linked to Mr Desmond. On May 23rd, a further £38,353 was paid towards the refurbishment of the yacht.
From Mr Glackin's report we know that in July 1990, Mr Desmond withdrew from the Freezone account - which was with TSB on Grafton Street, Dublin - £500,000 in cash, and it is unclear who received this money.
During Mr Glackin's investigation he discovered documents belonging to Hill Samuel, London, which lent money to Freezone. The bank believed Freezone was owned by Mr Desmond. The loan was given out in 1987 and was for £8 million sterling.
The bank sought information from Mr Desmond on an ongoing basis and, according to the Glackin report, "this was readily given by Mr Desmond, who explained to the bank in considerable detail his personal finances, his political contacts, his personal plans for the expansion of his personal interests and where relevant, the disposal of such interests".
Mr Desmond, in his statement to the media last year, said he had never received any political favours during the course of his various business dealings.