Mahon Tribunal: Mr Liam Lawlor did not own the Coolamber lands under investigation by the tribunal even after he found the money to buy them in 1987, it has been claimed.
Solicitor Mr John Caldwell told the tribunal that Mr Lawlor was not the beneficial owner of the lands, even though he was the sole person who would benefit from them economically.
Mr Caldwell used an offshore company, Navona Ltd, as a vehicle to acquire the 55 acres in west Dublin, using money Mr Lawlor had borrowed from beef baron, Mr Larry Goodman. Mr Lawlor's name did not appear on the documentation of the company, which was registered in the Isle of Man.
At this point in 1987, Mr Caldwell said, the lands were owned by Navona. The fact that Mr Lawlor had paid over money did not necessarily give him an interest in the land, he explained.
Judge Alan Mahon pointed out that Mr Caldwell, in his statement, had said that Mr Lawlor owned Navona. Now he seemed to be "resiling" from that statement to some degree.
Mr Ian Finlay SC, for Mr Caldwell, said his client had dealt with the question of beneficial ownership from a factual and practical point of view. However, the questions he had been asked related to points of law. The two were not necessarily the same.
According to Mr Caldwell, Mr Lawlor's interest existed in a "limbo state"; while he was not declared as the beneficial owner, he was to benefit economically from the company.
Mr Des O'Neill SC, for the tribunal, said this arrangement would allow Mr Lawlor to deny any knowledge of Navona and to point to the documentation showing other people as the shareholders. Mr Lawlor could stand back and say: "Not me".
Mr Caldwell agreed, but he denied that Mr Lawlor could alter his position subsequently by "changing horses mid-stream".
Shortly after the land was acquired, he added, businessman Mr Jim Kennedy "arrived in" saying he had an interest in Navona.
Mr Kennedy was allocated 50 per cent of the company, though this was not recorded anywhere.
Asked why he had not recorded Mr Kennedy's interest, or the fact that Mr Lawlor's interest had dropped 50 per cent, Mr Caldwell explained that Mr Kennedy had serious financial problems. The same issues of asset protection applied as in the case of Mr Lawlor.
He told Judge Gerald Keys that both men had a lot of creditors "after them" and so their interests were not noted. This would have caused difficulties if a dispute arose between the two men, he agreed, but "that would be for them to slug it out themselves".
Mr O'Neill pointed out that companies' office documentation for Navona listed an Isle of Man company administrator, Mr Martin Bullock, as being in control of the company.
In fact, Mr O'Neill said, Mr Caldwell controlled the company and Mr Bullock acted on his instructions.
Mr Caldwell agreed that Mr Bullock did act on his instructions, but said he was satisfied that Mr Bullock's involvement fell under the legal definition of "control" as set out in the documentation.
Asked why he thought Mr Goodman had provided Mr Lawlor with the money to buy the land, the witness said he believe Mr Goodman was "facilitating" the politician with a financing deal. Mr Goodman was never at any time the owner of the land, he said.
