Lawlor accused of money laundering

THE Planning Tribunal chairman, Judge Alan Mahon, said evidence about Liam Lawlor’s role in creating false documentation would suggest the former TD was engaged in money laundering.

Tribunal lawyers introduced further invoices from a company based in the Czech Republic yesterday to support their theory that Mr Lawlor regularly falsified records to conceal the proceeds of property deals in Ireland.

They argue that Mr Lawlor has generated complex paper trails to disguise such payments. They believe he created several loan agreements and invoices for work as a property consultant in Britain and the Czech Republic to allow him bring offshore funds back to Ireland.

In reply, the retired politician angrily rejected any suggestion that he had ever engaged in money laundering. Mr Lawlor accused tribunal barrister Des O’Neill SC of “headline-seeking” for making such remarks.

However, Judge Mahon intervened to raise questions about the evidence heard to date on a stg£117,500 payment to the former Fianna Fáil TD in 2000.

“If a person takes a £100,000 under-the-table cash payment in respect of a land deals and puts it through a series of hoops and bank accounts abroad to bring it back in using false invoices, that is laundering,” said the tribunal chairman.

Mr Lawlor replied that he had declared any money ever repatriated to Ireland from offshore accounts as well as paying any relevant tax.

“I never laundered a penny,” he stressed. “Well, it looks very different,” remarked Judge Mahon.

The tribunal yesterday revealed the existence of a document recording an agreement by a Czech development company, Zatecka, to loan Mr Lawlor £117,500. It also noted that an Irish company, Lunar Sea Developments was a client of Zatecka.

Tribunal lawyers highlighted how the sum represented the same amount that the former Dublin West TD received as a part-payment from developers, Michael Whelan and John Barrett for the sale of one acre of land adjacent to his home in Lucan.

The two developers have admitted using one of their companies, Lunar Sea Developments, to conceal an under-the-counter payment of £117,500 to Mr Lawlor in relation to the transaction.

Mr Lawlor said Mr Barrett had rejected his earlier suggestion the sum should be paid on receipt of an invoice issued by Zatecka. Mr Lawlor said he merely acted as a consultant for Zatecka in relation to property in Prague but denied being a shareholder or director of the company, even though he was entitled to 75% of its profits.

Nevertheless, he admitted Zatecka had been formed and registered on his instructions.

Following detailed questioning on the subject, tribunal member, Judge Gerald Keys observed Mr Lawlor was “the company, in reality” as he had the power to direct Zatecka to pay out money. Mr Lawlor replied: “I will not admit what I am not, because I am not and cannot.”

The tribunal has also heard that the money from the Lucan property deal was eventually paid by Lunar Sea into a client account operated by a firm of London solicitors, Seddon’s.

Mr Lawlor has confessed that he had used Seddon’s notepaper to create a false invoice to receive £117,500. He insisted that he had subsequently informed the firm’s principal, Tony Seddon of what he had done.

Under questioning by Mr O’Neill, however, Mr Lawlor said that he may not have expressly explained the details about the invoice to Mr Seddon until they spoke last week. Judge Mahon said it appeared that the former TD had effectively stolen a blank invoice from Seddon’s but was suggesting that the solicitor had adopted a “laidback” view.

Asked if he had been reprimanded by Mr Seddon over this admission, Mr Lawlor eventually conceded that the solicitor was not “very happy”.

Mr O’Neill said it had been established beyond “a scintilla of doubt” albeit not from Mr Lawlor’s evidence, that Seddon’s had nothing to do with the invoice.

At the conclusion of yesterday’s hearing, the tribunal invited Mr Lawlor to ask Mr Seddon to travel to Dublin to give evidence.