Evidence heard from AIB witnesses in July conflicted with the Taoiseach's account of his personal finances, writes Colm Keena, Public Affairs Correspondent
The Mahon tribunal's public sittings concerning payments in 1994 and 1995 to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern are to resume this week, following evidence in July which questioned whether the account he has given concerning the payments can be correct.
While the tribunal has indicated its intention in time to examine a wider range of matters to do with Mr Ahern's finances, including arrangements to do with the renting and subsequent purchase of his home, the current sittings are concerned solely with four significant cash lodgements made by Mr Ahern or on his behalf, with AIB O'Connell Street, Dublin, on dates in 1994 and 1995. All of the lodgements involved foreign currency being brought to the branch, being converted into Irish pounds, and that money then being lodged. The lodgements were as follows:
£24,838.49: Lodged on October 11th, 1994. The tribunal has been told by Mr Ahern this lodgment comprised £16,500 cash he was given by four named friends, as well as £8,000 sterling approximately in cash that he was given by a number of, mostly unnamed supporters in Manchester.
£28,772.90: Lodged by Mr Ahern's then partner, Celia Larkin, on Monday, December 5th, 1994. Mr Ahern has said this comprised or included £30,000 sterling cash which had been given to him two days earlier by his then prospective landlord, Manchester-based Michael Wall.
£11,743.74: Lodged by Ms Larkin on June 15th, 1995. Mr Ahern has said this included £10,000 sterling cash and £2,000.
£19,142.92. Lodged by Mr Ahern on December 1st, 1995, and being the proceeds of the conversion of £20,000 sterling cash.
The evidence heard from banking officials in July showed that AIB O'Connell Street tended to take in modest amounts of foreign currency. On an average day only about £2,000 worth of sterling would be brought into the branch, and a similar value of other foreign currencies.
While little of the documentation recording the above four cash lodgements is still in existence, bank records showing total amounts of foreign currency taken in on particular days, broken down into sterling and all other foreign currencies, is available.
The bank records do not fit easily with Mr Ahern's account of events. The October 1994 lodgment equates to exactly £25,000 sterling when one of the exchange rates for sterling on the day in question is applied. Also, sufficient sterling was received by the bank on that date to accommodate such an unusually large sterling lodgment.
The December 1994 lodgement equates to exactly $45,000 when one of the dollar exchange rates in use on the day in question is applied. Also, the bank's documents record the value of all the sterling received by the branch on that day as being just £1,921.53. The records show, however, that an unusual amount of non-sterling was received, enough to accommodate $45,000.
Mr Ahern has told the tribunal that the two 1995 sterling lodgements were the relodgement of money he withdrew in January 1995. He has said £50,000 withdrawn from his accounts in January 1995 was used in part to purchase £30,000 sterling in cash.
This money was kept in his safe for a period. Ms Larkin was given £10,000 sterling from this amount in June 1995, which she lodged, and the remainder was lodged in December 1995.
During the July sittings the tribunal heard that the bank's examination of its records indicated that the O'Connell Street branch had not sold an amount of £30,000 sterling to any customer during the January to June 1995 period. The largest amount of sterling sold by the branch during the period had a value of £9,451.50, and the value of the average sale was £2,133.65. Mr Ahern's counsel have argued that in some instances the bank's records could be incorrect, and that deductions made on the basis of downstream records are no substitute for the records of the actual transactions, records which no longer exist. However, it remains the case that those records that do exist conflict with Mr Ahern's account as it stands.
Tribunal counsel Des O'Neill SC, on a number of occasions in July, said that in earlier private communications with Mr Ahern, over an extended period, the tribunal had not been told that the lodgements had been preceded by foreign exchange transactions. AIB official Jim McNamara, who conducted searches into these lodgements for both Mr Ahern and the tribunal over the past two years, gave evidence in July. He said that it was earlier this year when he was first asked by Mr Ahern if there was evidence in the bank's records to show that the lodgements had been preceded by foreign exchange transactions. At the time Mr Ahern had not been asked by the tribunal if foreign currency had been involved.
Mr McNamara agreed with Mr O'Neill that the evidence indicated that at the time he made the query of Mr McNamara, Mr Ahern knew that the lodgements had been preceded by foreign exchange transactions.
The last of the bank witnesses, Rosemary Murtagh, is to give evidence tomorrow, followed by Mr Wall. Ms Larkin is to give evidence on Wednesday, with the Taoiseach scheduled to appear on Thursday and Friday.