Mahon Tribunal: Solicitor Mr John Caldwell signed a "completely erroneous" bank document indicating beef baron Mr Larry Goodman was 100 per cent owner of land when he knew this wasn't the case, the chairman of the tribunal has said.
"As a solicitor, you are giving effect to something which you know is not the case and will never be the case," Judge Alan Mahon told Mr Caldwell yesterday.
The assertion that Mr Goodman owned the company that had bought lands at Coolamber in west Dublin appeared in a 1987 letter in which the Bank of Nova Scotia offered a £350,000 loan facility. Mr Caldwell signed the letter in his capacity of the purchasing company, Southfield Property Company. In fact, according to Mr Caldwell, Southfield was owned by former Fianna Fáil TD Mr Liam Lawlor and businessman Mr Jim Kennedy.
The loan, which the bank provided after receiving a letter of comfort from Mr Goodman, was used to repay money advanced by the beef baron to Mr Lawlor to buy the property.
Judge Mahon said he could not understand how Mr Caldwell could say he had no duty of care to the bank. If that were so, it would mean there was nothing wrong and improper about signing an agreement that was impossible to perform.
Mr Caldwell said the bank was not his client and he had no fiduciary obligations towards it.
Mr Lawlor had presented this document to him to sign, and he had expressed his unhappiness with it.
Judge Mahon said it was not a matter to be unhappy about. Mr Caldwell also had duties towards his clients, Mr Lawlor and Mr Kennedy.
The document he was signing seemed to be contrary to their interests.
As a solicitor, Mr Caldwell was giving effect to something that wasn't the case.
Mr Caldwell said this wasn't necessarily so. His clients could in the preceding days have given him instructions to change the ownership of the company. However, this hadn't happened.
Earlier, the witness disputed Mr Lawlor's claim not to have a bank account in the Isle of Man.
Mr Caldwell acknowledged he controlled funds in the offshore jurisdiction, which were to be used as the former TD directed.
He pointed out, however, that Mr Lawlor was not a signatory to an Isle of Man bank account, as the money was held by a company, Navona Ltd, in which the politician had a share.
