Mahon Tribunal: Tribunal judges have accused Jackson Way, the controversial English property company under investigation for planning corruption, of a "strange and cynical" attitude to co-operation with the inquiry, writes Paul Cullen
The company, whose ownership structure the tribunal has been trying to unravel for four years, is currently seeking €47.5 million in compensation for lands it owned at Carrickmines that were acquired for the South-Eastern motorway. At the same time, it is refusing to co-operate with the tribunal.
Yesterday, Judge Gerald Keys said he found it "very strange and cynical" that the company had appeared this year at an arbitration hearing into its compensation claim, "where millions of pounds are available". Yet when it came to swearing an affidavit for the tribunal, the company decided not to co-operate.
The tribunal questioned lawyers for Mr John Caldwell, one of those linked to ownership of the lands at Carrickmines, about this failure to co-operate.
Mr Ian Finlay SC, for Mr Caldwell, said his client was anxious to co-operate with the tribunal, but was not in a position to compel Jackson Way to provide the documents.
Jackson Way is registered in England, and its sole director is Mr Alan Holland, a property agent based in Birmingham. However, the Carrickmines lands owned by the company are held in trust for two offshore companies, Renzenbrink Investments and Maskani Management. These have been linked to Mr Caldwell and the businessman Mr Jim Kennedy, respectively. Mr Liam Lawlor has denied allegations that he owns a share of the lands.
Mr Finlay said Mr Caldwell has taken "extreme and repeated" steps to secure the compliance of Jackson Way with the tribunal's orders. The net result of this was that Triay and Triay, the Gibraltar lawyers representing Maskani and Mr Kennedy, was refusing to assist the tribunal.
Mr Kennedy has told the tribunal that he will not return from his home in the Isle of Man to give evidence to the tribunal.
Mr Finlay said a "substantial quantity" of Jackson Way documents had already been provided to the tribunal last year. It was Mr Caldwell's view that these comprised the "vast bulk" of documents that were available.
Mr Finlay said Mr Caldwell had a practical role in the running of Jackson Way until 2001, when "an issue" arose between him and Mr Kennedy.
According to advice he had received from lawyers in Britain and Ireland, Mr Caldwell has no legal power to procure compliance from Jackson Way with the tribunal's orders.
As to the reasons why Jackson Way was not co-operating, Mr Caldwell believed it was on foot of legal advice obtained by Mr Holland. In addition, Mr Holland had told Mr Caldwell he was reluctant to expose himself to the "media frenzy" in Dublin.
Judge Alan Mahon pointed out that Mr Caldwell had always exercised complete control over Jackson Way. He didn't even need to contact Mr Kennedy before issuing instructions to Mr Holland.
Mr Finlay said the situation had altered radically as a result of the dispute between Mr Caldwell and Mr Kennedy. He expressed concern at the suggestion by the tribunal that Mr Caldwell had not taken proper steps to ensure co-operation. Judge Mahon said the tribunal wasn't satisfied that Mr Caldwell had done everything he could have done.
Judge Mahon ordered Mr Caldwell to appear before the tribunal on September 23rd.
Today, the tribunal will decide on whether to refer Mr Lawlor to the High Court for non-co-operation.