Ansbacher names will be known tomorrow

The report naming 200 Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd account holders resident in the State will be published tomorrow morning.

The report is expected to trace the Irish operations of Ansbacher Cayman from the early 1970s up to 1997. The 200 individuals and companies are believed to have lodged tens of millions of pounds in the bank.

Inspectors were appointed by the High Court to after the McCracken tribunal heard details of the affairs of Ansbacher (Cayman) Ltd.

The report has taken nearly three years to complete and cost €3.2 million. More than 200 witnesses have been interviewed during the investigation.

The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Finnegan, ruled 10 days ago that it was in the public interest for the report to be published in full.

He also directed copies be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Revenue Commissioners, and the revenue services in the US and UK because the report suggested criminal offences may have been committed.

However, he cautioned that to have been an Ansbacher customer did not mean a person was guilty of tax evasion, and this should be kept in mind when reading the report.

A spokesman for the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs said this afternoon that printing of 1,000 hardback copies of the report will be available, which equates to 10,000,000 pages.

The 10,000 page documents are bound in 15 volumes and weigh 25 kilos. The report is also available on CD rom, with up to 3,000 copies being made avaiable. However it will not be available on the internet because of legal advice from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

Last Monday the High Court directed that publication of the report be delayed for 5 days to allow completion of the huge printing run.

Copies of the report will be available from 9.30 a.m. at the Government Publications Sales Office, on Molesworth St, Dublin at a cost of €25.40.