Ansbacher client's firm made profit of #383,347 for 2001

Finnegan Menton, the auctioneering firm owned by Mr John Finnegan, a former client of Ansbacher Cayman, made a profit for the year ended December 31st, 2001 of £383,347 (€486,850), according to accounts just filed.

The accounts show the accumulated profit and loss account grew from £2.13 million (€2.7 million) in December 2000 to £2.51 million (€3.18 million) in December, 2001.

The annual return for the financial year to December 31st, 2001 shows the company made a £1,400 donation to the Progressive Democrats. Mr Finnegan was named in the Ansbacher inspectors' report, published last year, as having been a customer of Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd.

The inspectors were appointed by the High Court on the initiative of the leader of the Progressive Democrats, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney.

The company secretary of Finnegan Menton, Mr Desmond Turvey, gave evidence to the Ansbacher inspectors about the affairs of the late Mr Liam McGonigal.

Mr McGonigal had a trust in the Cayman Islands and Mr Turvey, a life-long friend of Mr McGonigal, was a de facto beneficiary of the trust.

The accounts for Finnegan Menton show the company had £1.4 million in cash on deposit on December 30th, 2001. Directors emoluments were £408,663. Mr Finnegan owns 119 of the 120 issued shares in the company as well as the premises from which it operates.

Mr Finnegan told the Ansbacher inspectors that he established a trust in the Cayman Islands in 1972, upon the advice of the late Mr Des Traynor.

The funds lodged in the trust were Mr Finnegan's share of the profits from property transactions he was involved in along with a number of others.

Mr Finnegan accessed the funds by means of "loans" from Guinness Mahon Cayman Trust, later Ansbacher Cayman, which he did not repay.

Whenever he wanted funds, he would contact Mr Traynor who would transfer the money to an account in the name of Mr Finnegan, his wife, or his daughter, according to the inspectors' report.

The interim report of the Flood tribunal, also published last year, found that £10,000 sterling (€15,384) of a corrupt £60,000 sterling payment to the former Fianna Fáil minister, Mr Ray Burke, came from Mr Finnegan.

Mr Justice Flood found in his report that Mr Finnegan hindered and obstructed the tribunal in its inquiries.

Mr Finnegan became involved with the tribunal because of his involvement with builders Mr Tom Brennan and Mr Joseph McGowan.

He denied in evidence that he had known of the payment to Mr Burke. He said £10,000 sterling would be in excess of the normal political donation which he would make.

Mr Turvey, an accountant, gave lengthy evidence to the inspectors during which he recounted his work with both Mr McGonigal, a solicitor and businessman, and Mr Finnegan.

He said Mr Finnegan, Mr McGonigal, and another former Ansbacher client, Mr Ken O'Reilly-Hyland, often did business together.

Mr Turvey did a lot of unpaid work for Mr McGonigal but was made a de facto beneficiary of "a substantial slice of the funds" in Mr McGonigal's Cayman trust.

"It amounts to quite a bit of money," he told the inspectors. "I'll probably never see it."

Mr Turvey said he "ended up virtually pensionless and I regarded that (the trust money) as my pension or provision for my later days."

He said there was still money in the trust "but there may be nothing there at the end of all of this if, you know, there are Revenue liabilities as a result of that trust."

Mr McGonigal died in November 1999.