All attempts over the past two years to trace the missing Irish investment broker, Mr Tony Taylor, have failed, the High Court was told yesterday.
Mr Taylor disappeared in 1996 around the time his investment business collapsed. It is alleged more than £2 million of investors' funds are unaccounted for.
Four of the Taylor Group of companies are now in liquidation. Yesterday Ms Justice Laffoy was told that Mr Taylor, who fled Ireland nearly three years ago, remains outside the jurisdiction.
Ms Caroline Preston, a partner in A.& L. Goodbody, solicitors, acting on behalf of the official liquidator, Mr Patrick McSwiney, said Mr Taylor had been "sighted" in various locations in the US and Europe, the most recent apparently being in London.
In an affidavit presented by Mr John O'Donnell, for the liquidator, Ms Preston said she believed Mr Taylor had fled in order to avoid the glare of publicity attaching to the winding up of the companies in the Taylor Group, which were insolvent, and to avoid dealing with the liquidator in respect of matters arising out of that liquidation.
She believed Mr Taylor fled the country shortly before the first company in the group was wound up in August 1996. He left no forwarding address and did not instruct any firm of solicitors to represent him.
Since then, intensive efforts had been made to contact him by the liquidator and gardai.
When National Irish Bank brought proceedings for the possession and sale of the home which Mr Taylor shared with his wife, Catherine, otherwise Shirley, Taylor at Anglesea Road, Dublin, there was no appearance by Mr Taylor and he was not represented. His wife, however, did instruct solicitors and was represented.
Ms Preston said Mr Taylor had not sworn a statement of affairs in respect of any of the companies which are now in liquidation despite the fact that orders winding up those companies required him to do so.
The court heard that a copy of the proceedings had been served on Mr Taylor's son, Paul, who had worked in London. He had accepted service of legal documents but denied all knowledge of his father's whereabouts.
Ms Preston said the liquidator had been in regular contact with the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation which was investigating the Taylor Group of companies and its directors.
She said the matter had continued to be adjourned from time to time in the Examiner's List in the High Court to allow progress to be reported. In all this time, both Mrs Taylor and her son, Paul, had denied all knowledge of Mr Taylor's whereabouts.
Mrs Taylor had indicated she was leaving her husband and Paul was now living in America. Neither Mrs Taylor nor her solicitors had ever given any indication of Mr Taylor's whereabouts.
The case was transferred into the court list for the purpose of fixing a date for the hearing of the action.