The inquiry into the Ansbacher deposits being carried out by an accountant and civil servant, Mr Gerard Ryan, is now thought likely to conclude some time in early 1999, according to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
In January Mr Ryan was appointed as an authorised officer under Section 19 of the Companies Act, 1990, to four companies connected to the operation of the deposits. These are Guinness & Mahon bank and Irish Intercontinental Bank, both of which are Irish companies, and Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd and Hamilton Ross Ltd, both of which are Cayman Islands companies.
Authorised officers may be appointed under the Companies Act, 1990, when there are "circumstances suggesting" that a company is or was being run with intent to defraud its creditors, with intent to assist another company to defraud its creditors, or other breaches of company law. An officer may see documents and interview officers of a company, but may only report on issues of fact.
Information collected by authorised officers is confidential and must remain confidential, though the reports of authorised officers may be passed on to certain parties, such as the Revenue Commissioners, the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Central Bank.
If during the course of his inquiries Mr Ryan discovers indications that companies which used the Ansbacher deposits were involved in defrauding the Revenue or other contraventions of company law, then the Tanaiste, Mary Harney, may choose to appoint authorised officers to those companies.
The Moriarty tribunal is inquiring into the Ansbacher deposits only in so far as they relate to the finances of Charles Haughey or any other politician found to be connected with the accounts. Persons or companies, if any exist, who had funds in the deposits and who made payments to Mr Haughey, will be named by the tribunal. The identity of other depositors discovered by the tribunal will not be revealed.
Once she has received a report from Mr Ryan, Ms Harney could, if she thought it necessary, seek the appointment of an inspector to one or more companies. Such an application would require an application to the High Court. Inspectors have greater powers than authorised officers and can make findings. Their reports may be published.
It is in this way or by the appointment of an authorised officer to such companies that the names of parties linked to the Ansbacher deposits could become public knowledge. It is suspected that the secretive deposits were used by major Irish companies or their officers to evade the payment of taxes. The criteria under which Section 19 officers can be appointed include "circumstances suggesting" that the affairs of a company were used with intent to defraud its creditors. Creditors include the Revenue Commissioners.
Mr Ryan is believed to know the names of at least some of the depositors. Documentation relating to the deposits is held by Ansbacher (Cayman) in the Cayman Islands. A request by Mr Ryan for this documentation was unsuccessful. As the company now has no operations in this jurisdiction, it seems there is nothing that can be done to force the company to hand over the documentation. In May Ms Harney publicly criticised the bank for its non-co-operation. The bank is owned by the Henry Ansbacher group, which in turn is owned by First National Bank of South Africa.
In June Mr Ryan was appointed as an authorised officer to a company called Kentford Securities. A report on this company is not expected until early next year. Kentford was a company controlled by the late Des Traynor, a former director of Guinness & Mahon, friend of and financial adviser to Mr Haughey, an architect and operator of the Ansbacher deposits.
From evidence given in the McCracken tribunal concerning the deposits, it seems Kentford was used by Mr Traynor when moving funds between accounts. He would open an account with Guinness & Mahon in the Kentford name, move funds into it, and then close the account when the funds had been moved on. Kentford was dissolved in 1995, a year after Mr Traynor's death.
