The director of a company which issued a bogus invoice used to make a £5,000 contribution to the Taoiseach through NCB Stockbrokers has said he did not authorise it. Des Maguire, of Euro Workforce Ltd, told the Mahon tribunal yesterday that he knew nothing about the invoice.
Euro Workforce Ltd was an employment agency and also carried out health and safety surveys. It was set up in 1992, after Mr Maguire bought the rights to the business carried out by Workforce Ltd, a company controlled by former Fianna Fáil fundraiser Des Richardson.
The tribunal had heard that the company generated an invoice to NCB Stockbrokers on December 14th, 1993, for a health and safety survey that was never carried out.
Des O'Neill SC, counsel for the tribunal, said NCB witnesses had said the invoice was bogus and was provided to allow a payment to be made to Mr Richardson, who then gave a draft of £5,000 to Mr Ahern. Mr O'Neill asked Mr Maguire how he could claim to know nothing about the invoice, given that he was the sole operator of the business.
Mr Maguire said his financial controller Sandra Fallon generated the invoices and kept the business accounts.
"I wouldn't be aware of the ins and outs of money going into accounts and coming out on a day-to-day basis," he said. "There is no point in having a dog and barking yourself."
Mr O'Neill asked Mr Maguire to agree that Ms Fallon carried out her job "to the letter" and that there was no inference that she did anything other than exactly what she was required to do.
"That's correct," Mr Maguire said.
Mr Maguire added he did not remember seeing the NCB cheque, and if he had, he would not have waited three months to cash it.
The tribunal was told that the cheque was not brought to the bank until March 1994 and then could not be cashed as it was damaged. A replacement cheque was supplied by NCB and this was lodged to Bank of Ireland Commercial Finance Ltd, the tribunal heard. Mr Maguire was asked if he had any recollection of the replacement cheque.
"None whatsoever, as amazing as it seems, but that is the truth of the matter," he said.
The company had a "factoring arrangement" with the bank, the tribunal was told. Under this, a sales ledger listing invoices was sent to the bank regularly, and 75 per cent of its value was then available to the company to draw down, before any payments were made by clients.
Mr Quinn said that the sales ledger for December 14th, 1993 showed the NCB invoice, and consequently, the company had received 75 per cent of the benefit of it. "It would appear so, I don't recall," Mr Maguire said.
