O’Brien cash in Lowry account

MONEY from Denis O’Brien ended up in an account owned by former Transport Minister Michael Lowry for the purchase of a property in the northern English town of Mansfield.

The Moriarty Report outlines how, at the time Mr Lowry first gave evidence to the tribunal in June 1999, he was in the throes of acquiring the Mansfield property, and how later he claimed that the transaction was not relevant to the business of the tribunal.

English-based property development consultant Kevin Phelan had sought to make contact with Mr Lowry in late 1997 regarding possible property investments in England. A year later Mr Lowry was committing to paying stg£25,000, 10% of the cost of the Mansfield property, as part of an investment that would include other people contributing money. At the same time, Mr Phelan was aiding Denis O’Brien regarding his proposed investment in Doncaster Rovers Football Club.

Aidan Phelan, an accountant who worked with Denis O’Brien, was approached in March 1999 to become involved in the Mansfield project. Aidan Phelan was by then heavily involved in a number of O’Brien projects. In December 1998 documentation mentions fees owed by O’Brien to Aidan Phelan, and that this could be paid out of Mr O’Brien’s stock in Versatel Telecom.

By March 25, 1999 stg£300,000 was debited from the London branch of Credit Suisse First Boston account owned by Mr O’Brien, as an advance of Versatel fees. Four days later the same sum was lodged by Aidan Phelan into the client account of Northampton solicitor Christopher Vaughan, but credited to Mr Lowry.

A joint venture agreement was later signed by Mr Lowry and Aidan Phelan in Dublin, and the sale was completed.

The report found that the versions of events from Mr Lowry and Mr Aidan Phelan were “wholly at odds” with the documentation that came to light in 2009, while the falsification of Mr Vaughan’s files purported that Mr Lowry was holding the registered title of the Mansfield property as a nominee on behalf of a partnership in which he had just a 10% interest.

The report finds that the stg£300,000 lodged on or around March 29, 1999, to the account of Mr Lowry with Mr Vaughan was the proceeds of a payment made to and for the benefit of Mr Lowry by Mr O’Brien, again with “a reasonable inference that the motive for making the payment was connected to the public office of Minister for Transport, energy and Communications, formerly held by Mr Lowry”.