A taxi-driver took out a credit card in his own name and without signing the back of it handed it to Mr Liam Lawlor who had asked him to open the account, the tribunal was told yesterday.
Mr John Patrick Long also gave evidence about two bank accounts, in the Ulster Bank in Palmerstown, Co Dublin, and in the Irish Permanent, Lucan, he had opened in his name on behalf of Mr Lawlor.
When Mr Long was asked why he had agreed to open bank accounts in his name when he could be held liable if anything went wrong, he said: "Liam Lawlor was in trouble with the banks. He asked me as a friend to do that and I did it. I'm sure most people would do a thing like that for a friend."
The credit card account was opened in the name of Patrick Long in the Irish Permanent and he got the card some time in January 1999. Asked where the credit card was, he said it was not used any more. "When I got it was the last time I had it," he said.
Mr Long said when he received the card he gave it to Mr Lawlor. Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal, asked if he gave the credit card to Mr Lawlor with no signature on the back. Mr Long replied: "That's correct." Asked why he did not sign it, he said: "It wasn't for me. It wasn't for my benefit . . . I never used it."
Mr Gallagher said that according to the credit card statement a number of transactions had been recorded, including one for £150 in Dublin and a debit in Los Angeles. It also showed a number of debits to other establishments in Dublin.
Counsel referred to the bank account in the Ulster Bank in Palmerstown which was opened from August 1997 to August 1999 and held in the name of John Long.
Asked how it came about, Mr Long replied: "He [Mr Lawlor] told me he had troubles with his banks and could borrow money from abroad, but he didn't want to put it into any of his own accounts as the banks would have snapped it up so he asked me if I would be a nominee on the account."
The opening lodgement of £500 was on August 6th, 1997. Asked what he did with the cheque books, he said he gave them to Mr Lawlor. "I just went up and signed a book of blank cheques and gave them to him," he said.
Mr Gallagher asked him if he did not think signing blank cheques could have left him in an embarrassing financial position if something went wrong.
Mr Long said: "No, because I didn't think he'd do anything like that."
Mr Gallagher said that from the statements various lodgments were made over the two-year period of £500, £3,000, £19,000, £24,000 and on November 18th, 1998, £49,000. There were also withdrawals.
The bank manager approached Mr Long. "I was down there one day, and the manager said there was money coming in from abroad and he thought it was a bit much for a taxi-driver to have in the account," he said.
"I went back and explained to Liam and he gave me a letter to give to the bank manager. I gave in the letter I got from Liam and it said I was owed money from abroad. I think it said it was coming in from Liechtenstein. It was a letter by way of comfort to the manager."
Asked when he had last spoken to Mr Lawlor, Mr Long said it was the previous day. He had asked him to come down to the office and asked him to cross-reference bank accounts against others. He thought Mr Lawlor was trying to find out if any of the £2.6 million was by inter-bank transfers.