Reynolds denies director's role in controversial land deals firm

Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds today denied being a director of an offshore company which was used to buy rezoned land in north Dublin.

Despite documents held by the Planning Tribunal naming Mr Reynolds as a director of Jersey-based Universal Management Consultants he insisted they were wrong.

The former Fianna Fáil leader admitted that he was the beneficial owner of UMC but insisted this did not make him director.

Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, put it to the former Taoiseach that he was in effect the true owner of UMC.

But Mr Reynolds responded: “I wasn’t a director, I wasn’t a shareholder.”

The tribunal is currently investigating claims by lobbyist Frank Dunlop that he paid money to councillors to secure the rezoning of 20 acres of land at Lissenhall, near Swords. In 1992 the lands which are controlled by builder Joe Moran were rezoned for industry.

Mr Reynolds’ former business partner Patrick Russell has told the tribunal how they sought to buy the land between 1997 and 2001. Mr Russell has claimed the deal was being paid for through UMC as part of a joint venture with a Derry-based building company O’Neill Brothers in the late 1990s.

The tribunal today outlined a money trail involving sums up to £300,000 (€430,000). The payments originated in accounts owned by Mr Reynolds in London or Dublin, were moved on to a trust in Jersey called Uniman, transferred to UMC and returned to Mr Reynolds’ solicitor John O’Connor in Dublin.

In total Mr Reynolds and Mr Russell were forced to repay £350,000 (€430,000) to the O’Neill builders after the land deal collapsed.

But Mr Reynolds insisted while he instructed the transfer of some monies he did not have total control or knowledge of what accounts the money was moving in and out of.

He was shown a letter from his solicitor, John O’Connor, identifying the money trail.

But Mr Reynolds said: “The letter from my solicitor, Mr O’Connor, asked for money, I supplied the money, and what he did with it is his business.”

Mr Reynolds told the inquiry he could not put his hands up and say where it went.

“I gave him the money to do the job, end of story,” Mr Reynolds said.