A FORMER business associate of Mr Ben Dunne told the tribunal yesterday he never had any doubt that cheques issued between 1987 and 1991, totalling £1.1 million, were for the benefit of the then Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey.
Mr Noel Fox, a chartered accountant and trustee of Dunnes Settlement Trust, said the cheques were discussed in a series of telephone calls he had with the former managing director of Guinness and Mahon bank, the late Mr Des Traynor. Mr Fox would take, the details of the amounts required, and where the cheques were to be issued to, and pass them on to Mr Ben Dunne.
He said he had never met Mr Traynor face to face about the matter, but he had no doubt then and still had no, doubt, that the cheques were being paid for Mr Haughey's benefit.
When Mr Traynor first phoned him in 1987 he told him he was dealing with a significant business problem that related to Mr Haughey. "He said the way he was dealing with the problem was he was seeking to put together a handful or perhaps half a dozen people to contribute £150,000 each towards settling the problem," Mr Fox told counsel for the tribunal, Mr Denis McCullough SC.
"He never spoke to me about the nature or genesis of the problem," he said. Mr Fox said he believed Mr Traynor to be a close friend of Mr Haughey "and I naturally, accepted him on that basis.
"He was asking me would I mind approaching Mr [Ben] Dunne to see if he would become a part of the consortium." He could not remember what he expected Mr Dunne's attitude to be, but he said he would pass on the message. The telephone call from Mr Traynor lasted just a few minutes, Mr Fox said.
He told Mr Dunne about the situation shortly afterwards at one of their regular morning business meetings. "He said look, I really don't want someone like, Mr Haughey trawling around trying to put a consortium together. He said I'm prepared to take on this problem myself. But be said he would need time to do it."
Asked if he was surprised by Mr Dunne's reaction, Mr Fox said. I would have said look, it's £150,000 they're looking for and he said I'm prepared to do it myself and I thought it was very generous, actually. It was in character. He was a very generous man and very compassionate."
Asked by Mr McCullough at this point if he believed what Mr Traynor had told him, Mr Fox said he did. Otherwise "I wouldn't have taken it any further, quite frankly".
Mr McCullough. "I take it you wouldn't have dreamt of putting this proposition to Mr Dunne unless you were certain that what Mr Traynor was telling you was the truth?"
Mr Fox. That's correct.
Asked what Mr Traynor's reaction was to the news that Mr Dunne was prepared to take on the problem himself, Mr Fox replied, to laughter in the public gallery. "He was quite pleased."
Mr Traynor was told that, Mr Dunne would require some time, probably about six months, to get the money together. But Mr Fox said he was contacted shortly afterwards by Mr Traynor and told some of the money was urgently required. He requested the sterling equivalent of IR£205,000.
Mr Fox said Mr Traynor gave him the name of the payee, a Mr John Furze, and said he was the banker looking after the transaction. He had never heard of the man before then.
He told Mr Dunne about the problem and was told to get the cheque from Mr Matt Price at Dunnes Stores' Bangor branch as it was in a sterling area. Mr Price posted the cheque to Mr Fox who sent it on to Mr Traynor.
Mr Fox said he was contacted again by, Mr Traynor in July, 1988. This time he gave him a figure of £471,000, Mr Furze's name, the name and address of the bank it was to be sent to, and relevant reference numbers. He agreed with Mr McCullough that the cheque was to be sent to an account in the name of John Furze at a branch of Barclays Bank in Knightsbridge in, London. Mr Traynor gave no indication as to how Mr Haughey's financial affairs were refused him again in April, or May, 1989, this time requesting a cheque for £150,000 sterling. This cheque was to be sent to an account in the name of Henry Ansbacher & Co in the Royal Bank of Scotland in Threadneedle Street in London. Mr Fox gave the details to Mr Dunne.
He said he received another call from Mr Traynor in February, 1990. This time the request was for £200,000 sterling, again to be paid into a London account in the name of Henry Ansbacher & Co.
The four transactions came to a total of £1.1 million. All were handled by Mr Dunne himself except the first one, which came from a Dunnes Stores account and was sent by Mr Fox to Mr Traynor.
Asked by Mr McCullough if he still believed, the money was for the benefit of Mr Haughey, as stated by Mr Traynor at the time, Mr Fox said. "I do indeed." Mr Traynor was reputed to be a close friend of Mr Haughey and he believed this to be true.
Mr Fox described himself as a friend of Mr Haughey but not a close friend. Asked if lie still regarded himself as a friend of the former Taoiseach, he said he did. He had met Mr Haughey a number of times since the transactions were organised, but not socially, and he had never raised the matter with him.
Mr Fox also said that at no time had Mr Traynor suggested that Mr Dunne or Dunnes Stores might benefit in any way from the transactions, nor had Mr Dunne ever said he hoped or expected to get any benefit.