Moriarty tribunal to sit in private next week

The Moriarty tribunal is to sit, most likely in private, next Wednesday to hear evidence from unidentified witnesses believed to be officials from a bank or banks linked to the Ansbacher deposits.

The hearing is part of a complex process the tribunal is obliged to go through as a result of the Supreme Court ruling in the Haughey case. The tribunal is inquiring into the finances of Mr Charles Haughey and those of the former Fine Gael minister, Mr Michael Lowry.

Wednesday's witnesses will be questioned about the identities of people connected with certain financial transactions and accounts.

On November 5th the tribunal interviewed at least two witnesses, Mr Padraic Collery and Ms Joan Williams, as to the identities of people who had money lodged in the Ansbacher deposits. This evidence was heard in private.

Information, which would otherwise be sought by way of orders of discovery or private meetings, is being collected by the Moriarty tribunal by examining witnesses under oath and in private.

As part of the Haughey judgment in July, the Supreme Court quashed more than 30 orders of discovery and laid out rules of fair procedure for the issuing of new discovery orders. The tribunal is prohibited from relying on information gleaned from the documentation received as a result of the quashed discovery orders. Some of the orders had been served as early as September 1997.

The "prohibited" information includes the names of persons linked to accounts and transactions into which the tribunal is inquiring. According to sources, when the tribunal serves new orders on banks or other companies linked to the matters being inquired into, they in turn must contact third parties identified in the documentation sought, and seek their permission to release it to the tribunal. If a third party objects, then the bank may not hand over documentation which would identify that party.

In such a case, the tribunal is unable to approach the third party directly, even though the party's identity may be known to the tribunal as a result of the quashed discovery orders.

In order to overcome this, the tribunal is now calling as witnesses staff from banks and other companies. These persons are then being questioned under oath as to the identities of parties linked to transactions and accounts being investigated by the tribunal. The witnesses are obliged to answer. Persons or companies identified by the witness can then be approached directly by the tribunal.

This week the tribunal re-served orders of discovery on Guinness & Mahon bank and Irish Intercontinental Bank, the two Irish banks linked to the Ansbacher deposits. These orders had already been served on the banks late last year, soon after the establishment of the tribunal in September 1997, but were quashed by order of the Supreme Court in the Haughey case.