CAYMAN Islands banker Mr John Furze has said it was he and his business partner who approached the late accountant Des Traynor about setting up a Guinness & Mahon operation in the Cayman Islands.
Mr Furze's name has been linked to payments totalling £1.1 million by Mr Ben Dunne, into London bank accounts, the ultimate beneficiary of which Mr Dunne alleged was a Fianna Fail politician. In an affidavit Mr Dunne is believed to have alleged that he lodged funds into London bank accounts, some of which were in the name "John Furze". Mr Furze says he never met Ben Dunne and had no links with Fianna Fail.
Mr Furze told The Irish Times that he met Mr Traynor when he (Traynor) was working with the accountancy firm, Haughey Boland in 1969. He declined to say how he had met Mr Traynor or in what context.
Asked if it was possible that somebody had opened the accounts in London in his name, he replied that anything was possible. "I have been racking my brains, trying to figure out what this is all about ever since my name was linked to it," he said. Mr Furze has said he did not hold money in bank accounts on behalf of other people. He has also said it was unlikely that an account would be opened in his name without his knowledge.
Mr Furze said that Guinness & Mahon Cayman Trust received its first licence to trade in the islands in 1971. It was under the management of First Trust Novia Scotia, where Mr Furze worked. Guinness used the offices and services of Novia Scotia and paid an annual fee, a common practice in the Caymans.
Mr Furze and his partner Mr John Collins, had approached Mr Traynor, who was a director of Guinness & Mahon about setting up Guinness & Mahon as a fully- fledged operation on the island. This occurred in 1973. It was felt that it would be more profitable for all concerned.
From 1973-1980 Mr Furze said Mr Traynor came to the Cayman Islands, about once a year. From then on, the company held quarterly meetings, producing unaudited accounts from the Guinness & Mahon group. The decision to hold more regular meetings was taken because the company was growing.
In 1988, Ansbacher took over the Guinness & Mahon operation in the Caymans. Mr Furze stayed on as managing director. Mr Traynor was also a director of Ansbacher and chairman at one stage.
In 1993 the operation was sold on to the First National Bank of South Africa. Mr Furze retired on April 30th, 1995. In 1994, as a director of Ansbacher, Mr Furze attended Des Traynor's funeral.
Mr Furze said he was aware of the political controversy which occurred five years ago when it emerged that Mr Traynor had given an interest-free loan of almost £200,000 to Australian Labour politician, Brian Burke. Mr Burke was Ambassador to Ireland at the time.
Mr Burke was recalled from Ireland and was later jailed. Mr Furze said the matter would have been discussed at board level in the bank.
Mr Furze said he had always found Mr Traynor to be very honourable and straight forward in any dealings he had had with him. Mr Traynor did not keep a house on the Cayman Islands, he said, and would usually fly in for board meetings and fly out again the next day, "probably because he was a very busy man".
Mr Furze, who is in his fifties, now runs a company called International Insurance Management Corporation. It handles captive insurance and he says he runs the company on behalf of a client.
The company is located in offices outside the centre of Georgetown on the third floor of an unprepossessing building. Several other businesses also operate from the clean, modern suites. Sources say the company is not a large one. However, it is understood that it takes up a lot of Mr Furze's time.
A spokeswoman for the Companies Registration Office in the Caymans, said the company did not have its directors or share-holders listed. It was registered in February 1993. No further details were available.
The Cayman Islands thrives on financial secrecy and it is not usual for much information to be filed with the Companies Office.
Mr Furze has expressed concern about his name being linked to the Dunnes affair. Mr Furze says he had never met Ben Dunne and wouldn't know him if he tripped over him. He said the last time he had heard about Mr Dunne was when he was arrested in Florida, and later faced drug charges. He had read a report about the incident in the Miami Herald, he said.
He said he was limited as to what he could say because of the strict rules pertaining to financial disclosures on the Cayman Islands. He also said he would be contacting the Financial Services Supervision Department to inform them that his name had been linked to the affair. He said he would provide the Department with an affidavit on the matter, if required.
Business sources said this week that it was likely that the Department was keeping a watching brief on the matter. "Matters like these are of interest to them," said one source, "and they are very strict on the rules of disclosure of information."
Mr Furze has lived in the Caymans for the past 30 years. He was awarded an MBE in 1988 for community services on the island.
In keeping with their strict laws on divulging information, few in the banking community were prepared to talk about Mr Furze. One associate said he was well-respected by his peers. His role of managing director of Ansbacher gave him a high profile.
Mr Furze was born in Norwich in June 1942. In 1977 he married Ingrid Marian and the couple have three sons. From 1958-61 he worked for the British Government and then worked with Barclays Bank until 1966. He then moved to the bank of Nova Scotia Trust and in 1973 he moved to Ansbacher, which was then Guinness & Mahon.
He lives in a substantial detached house at the highly desirable Governor's Harbour, a piece of reclaimed land off West Bay Road. Property sources say the house is worth in excess of $750,000.