Michael Lowry's dealings with the Moriarty tribunal took a new twist last week when it emerged the inquiry was investigating two land deals he made in Britain.

That the transactions involved funds apparently controlled by Denis O'Brien clearly adds to the curiosity surrounding Mr Lowry's award of the second mobile phone licence.

Although the tribunal said it would be wrong to draw conclusions from the evidence presented last week, it has embarked on an investigation into the overlapping links between Mr O'Brien, Mr Lowry, and Mr Aidan Phelan, an accountant who works for Mr O'Brien. It is inquiring into the funding of the transactions and steps apparently taken to conceal the identity of the real parties.

A group involved in the transactions was Catclause, a British-registered company that the tribunal said was effectively owned by Mr Lowry and his daughter.

According to British company records obtained by The Margin, the director of Catclause was "Instant Companies Ltd" and its secretary was "Swift Incorporations Ltd".

Quite how the Tribunal established the link between Mr Lowry and Catclause is unclear. But given that Mr Lowry was always a man in a hurry, his choice of directorial title seems apt.