Collery served by garda in Ansbacher inquiries

The former Guinness & Mahon banker Mr Padraig Collery has been served with documentation by a garda from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) as part of the agency's ongoing inquiries into the Ansbacher deposits.

It is understood the move is linked to a pending High Court hearing where the ODCE is seeking access to the papers gathered by the Ansbacher inspectors during the course of their investigation. The case is due to be heard on November 5th.

The ODCE is seeking access to the inspectors' papers so as to develop a more complete understanding of the conclusions the inspectors reached in their report. The court will have to rule on whether it should be given access to the papers, which are understood to be extensive.

In their voluminous report, the inspectors published the documentation and interviews upon which their various conclusions were based. Mr Collery was one of a number of individuals about whom the inspectors came to conclusions.

Mr Collery worked alongside the late Des Traynor in Guinness & Mahon for many years and helped run the Ansbacher deposits after Mr Traynor's death in 1994.

The inspectors, in their report, said there was evidence to suggest that Mr Collery, between 1989 and 1994, assisted Ansbacher Cayman in carrying on an unlicensed banking business, in evading tax due on its own activities, and in assisting others in evading tax.

It said Mr Collery may have committed the common-law offence of conspiracy to defraud and the offence of knowingly aiding or inducing another person to make incorrect returns to the Revenue.

In relation to the former Haughey Boland employee, Mr Sam Field Corbett, the report found that he may have acted in breach of the Central Bank Act 1971. Mr Field Corbett allowed Mr Collery keep records linked to the Ansbacher deposits in his, Mr Field Corbett's, offices, following Mr Traynor's death.

In relation to the former Haughey Boland accountant Mr Jack Stakelum, the inspectors found there was evidence to suggest he may have committed a number of criminal offences, including the common-law offence of conspiracy to defraud and the carrying on of a banking business without the licence required.

They also found he may have committed the offence of knowingly aiding, assisting or inducing another person to make an incorrect return to the Revenue.

In relation to another Irish individual mentioned in the conclusions, Mr Traynor's former secretary, Ms Joan Williams, the inspectors said, based on the evidence before them, they concluded that, while she would have acquired some level of understanding that the Ansbacher scheme had a tax-evasion dimension, she would not have been in a position to oppose Mr Traynor's course of action.

The inspectors also came to conclusions regarding Cayman bankers Mr John Collins and the late John Furze.

They found that Mr Traynor may have been guilty of several criminal offences.