The long-awaited and controversial report identifying some 200 individuals and companies with accounts in Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd is to be published at noon on Tuesday July 2nd, the High Court ordered yesterday.
It was important for public confidence that the report be made public, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Finnegan, said.
He directed publication despite objections by lawyers acting for a number of unnamed parties. Several counsel had argued that, before any publication, they should have an opportunity to see the report and to make submissions for parts of it, related to them, not to be revealed.
After hearing the arguments for and against publication, the judge said it seemed the balance fell "very squarely" in favour of disclosure. He said he was not taking into consideration objections made on behalf of unidentified parties.
The report was said to have cost €3.2 million and to comprise around 10,000 pages, including indices.
Deciding that the report should be published in full and without omission, the judge said any embarrassment felt by those named in the report would be outweighed by the public interest.
The judge, who read the report, said he wanted to emphasise that, within it, there was no accuser, no one was accused and no one was being found guilty. The report was a gathering of information and conclusions and had the limited effect of being evidence in civil proceedings.
In the report, the inspectors themselves state that those identified should not be categorised as offenders and should be accorded the presumption of innocence to which everyone was entitled.
It was important to bear in mind that a finding that any particular individual was a client of Ansbacher was not a finding that the person was evading tax, the judge said.
Some persons had borrowed money from Ansbacher which gave rise to no tax liability whatsoever, while others had established trusts to which they had never transferred assets.
The only party named in court as being named in the report was the estate of the late Mr Des Traynor, who had been a director of Guinness Mahon Bank.
Mr Richard Nesbitt SC, for the estate and other named parties, asked for publication of the report to be delayed to allow time for lawyers to study it and, if necessary, to make applications later for parts to be redacted [withdrawn\].
The judge said it was important that people who had been wrongly identified in the media should now be revealed as not being clients of Ansbacher (Cayman).
Mr Justice Finnegan allowed an application on behalf of Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd that it should be given a copy of the report before its general release next Tuesday.
However, the judge stressed, the bank must not disclose its contents before then.
The Ansbacher inquiry began in September 1999 and concluded earlier this month. It discovered that many senior business people and a number of corporate entities had connections with secret deposits.
Thousands of documents had been perused and there was evidence from 200 witnesses.
On June 10th last, the final report of the inspectors, who had been appointed by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Ms Harney, was given to Mr Justice Finnegan.
He directed that copies of the report be furnished to the Director of Corporate Enforcement and to Ms Harney. At the time, the judge deferred making a decision on publication.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Finnegan said it seemed to him that all the steps carried out by the inspectors met with the requirements of natural justice.
He had to balance private contractual rights against the public interest which might arise on disclosure.
The report covered a wide area of the commercial life of this State and it was important for public confidence that it be made public. It seemed the balance fell very squarely in favour of disclosure and this was considerably so because of the lengths the inspectors had gone to on procedural fairness.
The judge said he would allow a short period to any party identified in court to go to another court if he wished.
Mr Nesbitt said he did not need a stay (to allow an appeal to the Supreme Court). Mr John Gordon SC, for Ansbacher (Cayman), said he was not seeking a stay.
Mr Justice Finnegan directed that copies of the report be given next Tuesday to the Revenue Commissioners, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Central Bank, the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an officer with the Department of Enterprise and Employment, Mr Gerard Ryan.
Copies are also to go to the British Financial Services Authority, the British Department of Trade and Industry, the US Inland Revenue Service and the Caymen Islands Monitoring Authority.
Costs of the proceedings are to be dealt with later.
Mr Eoghan Fitzsimons SC, for the Director of Corporate Enforcement, said his client agreed to the publication of the report.
It was decided that the report should be made available to the public through the Government Publications Office.
The court heard that it might take a week for the disk with the report to be prepared. The judge said publication should take place next Tuesday.