Moriarty presses financial institutions over Ansbacher

A number of financial institutions have received orders from the Moriarty tribunal, seeking information on transactions associated with the so-called Ansbacher deposits. The tribunal - which is sitting next week to hear evidence on the Ansbacher accounts - is in many cases going back to obtain information which it first received from the banks last year, but which it must now seek again from the financial institutions following a Supreme Court decision in July.

The court made its ruling following an appeal by the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, and members of his family that they must be given notice of the tribunal's intention to seek details of bank accounts and an opportunity to make representations on any orders. It remains to be seen what attitude Mr Haughey and his advisers will take to the issuing of the new orders.

At the time of the Supreme Court decision in July, 36 orders issued by the tribunal were quashed and the information it had obtained from the financial institutions on foot of these orders was returned.

It is not known how many of these orders were re-issued. However, a number of financial institutions are believed to have received orders, including the two banks in which the Ansbacher deposits were held, Guinness & Mahon and Irish Intercontinental Bank.

Dunnes Stores has also provided information to the tribunal and among the issues which the Moriarty team is believed to be examining is a payment of over £280,000 made from Dunnes Stores in Bangor in the late 1980s to a company in which Mr John Furze and Mr John Collins were directors. The late Mr Furze and Mr Collins established Guinness & Mahon in the Cayman Islands with the late Mr Des Traynor, who controlled the so-called Ansbacher deposits for many years. Guinness & Mahon's Cayman operation was taken over by Ansbacher, which in turn held the accounts in Irish banks on behalf of Irish beneficiaries. The McCracken tribunal discovered that Mr Haughey was the beneficiary of some of the funds in the deposits, though a number of other Irish residents are also understood to have held money in the accounts.

As well as the Moriarty investigation, the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, appointed an authorised officer to investigate the Ansbacher accounts and is also awaiting a report from another officer into former Fine Gael minister Mr Michael Lowry's companies.