A close associate of Denis O'Brien's has returned to the Moriarty Tribunal. Aidan Phelan answered questions about the transfer of $300,000 worth of shares out of the late David Austin's account into an account owned by Denis O'Brien's father-in-law.
Mr Phelan was asked why a signature on the letter ordering the transfer was different to Mr Austin's normal signature. The letter was written while Mr Austin was ill in hospital, just two weeks before his death.
Denis O'Brien told the Tribunal that these shares in Esat Telecom were put into Mr Austin's account by mistake. They were meant for his father-in-law.
However, the Tribunal is interested in the attempts to remedy this mistake. The letter instructing Aidan Phelan to arrange the transfer of the shares is the key to the investigation.
In all the other documents available to the Tribunal, Mr Austin has signed his name David FT Austin. In the signature on this letter, the middle initials are missing.
Even though the letter is dated the 13 October, the New York brokers responsible for the transfer only received it in mid-November. This was two weeks after David Austin had died.
The late Mr Austin has been linked to several transactions involving Denis O'Brien, Michael Lowry and Fine Gael. Aidan Phelan said he could not offer any explanation for these discrepancies.
