Charles Haughey, May have received additional payment
It has emerged at the Payments to Politicians Tribunal that Charles Haughey may have received £100,000 more than previously mentioned. The claim emerged during submissions made by Counsel for the Moriarty Tribunal at this morning's sitting. The Tribunal broke early today to allow the legal team to further investigate these matters. It has now adjourned until Tuesday.
The Tribunal heard today that £100,000, which was intended as an investment in Celtic Helicopters, found its way into a bank account used for the benefit of Charles Haughey. The money ended up in the so-called S8 sterling account in Irish Intercontinental Bank in November 1992. The tribunal has already established that this account was used to pay the monthly bills of the former Taoiseach.
Earlier, the former director general of the Irish Tourist Board Joe Malone confirmed that he had been asked by Charles Haughey to invest in Celtic Helicopters in 1985. He said initially the former Taoiseach had asked him to become chairman of Celtic, but he declined. He said Mr Haughey had appeared offended. Mr Malone told the tribunal that he did not want to take on the post because of a possible conflict of interest, as he was on the board of Aer Lingus at the time. When approached a second time he agreed to £15,000 in the name of his son, Joe Junior.
Before the tribunal rose, Conor and Seán Haughey gave evidence that they had no knowledge of the workings of Larchfield Securities, the company set up to run the family's business affairs. They accepted that they had signed documents they did not understand but said they had done so on the basis that professional advice had been sought.
