A Cayman Islands businessman who has control over at least some of the money in the Ansbacher deposits has said the legal position is that the money belongs to the Cayman banker, the late Mr John Furze.
Mr Barry Benjamin said he knew that in fact the money belonged to a number of people, most of whom are Irish residents, but he needed legal proof of this.
He said that at the moment the only documentation available showed the money belonged to Hamilton Ross Co Ltd, a Cayman company owned by Mr Furze. Mr Benjamin is executor to the estate of Mr Furze.
He said that any depositor who wanted to be given information about his or her account, or make a withdrawal, would have to produce proof that he or she was the true owner of the account.
The Kerry TD, Mr Denis Foley, is among the people affected. His account is understood to contain in excess of £130,000 sterling.
Hamilton Ross formed part of the Ansbacher deposits, and controlled the accounts owned by Mr Charles Haughey. When Mr Furze left the Ansbacher Cayman bank in 1995, he took some of the deposits he controlled with him to Hamilton Ross.
Some time after Mr Furze died, Mr Benjamin received a list showing who owned what. However, he said, he needed legal proof that a particular person writing to him seeking information was in fact the person listed as having money in the deposits.
Otherwise he is precluded under Cayman law from even replying to the person's letter.
When Mr Benjamin received correspondence from the Moriarty tribunal recently, containing letters from depositors authorising him to disclose information about their affairs, he took the view that the letters were not sufficient proof of ownership of the accounts. He did not reply to the tribunal.
"I need third-party verification," Mr Benjamin said yesterday. "If anyone does not get information from me it's because I don't have the authority to provide it . . . I don't have any documents that show this money belongs to anyone other than John Furze, though I know that is not the case."
He said he has released money in some accounts after being convinced it was proper to do so.
In March 1997, as it became clear that the discovery of the Ansbacher deposits was imminent, Mr Furze closed most of the accounts he controlled in Dublin and moved the money back to the Cayman Islands. Mr Foley's money was moved. It is not clear if Mr Haughey's money was moved.
Mr Benjamin said he took instructions in relation to the Hamilton Ross accounts from a person from whom he had been told by Mr Furze to take instructions. Mr Furze gave the instruction as he was about to undergo a heart operation from which he never recovered.
Mr Barry said he could not reveal the identity of the person giving instructions. "That's something that will never come out."
It was revealed last week that money has been taken from the depositors' accounts without their permission to pay legal costs Mr Furze incurred in 1997, when he successfully fought the disclosure of information to the McCracken (Dunnes Stores) Tribunal. Mr Benjamin said he apologised for the money being taken from people's accounts.
"I am really sorry, but I was taking instructions. John Furze went to court to protect the other people, not to protect Charles Haughey."
The tribunal heard last week that £5,000 sterling was taken from Mr Foley's account, and that Mr Foley will tell the tribunal this occurred without his being consulted.
The former Guinness & Mahon banker, Mr Padraig Collery, who looked after the accounts of Hamilton Ross in Dublin up to March 1997, travelled to the Cayman Islands in July 1998 to help Mr Benjamin organise the company's books. Last week Mr Collery apologised to the Moriarty Tribunal for doing this, and for not informing the tribunal.
"He did it at my request and I feel bad he's taking some heat for that," Mr Benjamin said.
