Company files left in the Prague office of The Irish Consortium, in which Dublin West TD Mr Liam Lawlor had a shareholding, have been destroyed by the current tenant.
The property consultancy operated out of an apartment in Prague for two years from December 1993. It was run by an architect, Mr Conor McElliot, who closed the Prague office in December 1995, leaving behind company documents and unpaid phone bills of more than £900, The Irish Times has learned.
At the Flood tribunal last week Mr Lawlor said some of the company's files were still in the Prague apartment and he said he had no contact with the tenant there now.
Ms Miroslava Nezvalova (50), has lived in the Prague apartment for 22 years. She sublet it for two years from late 1993 for 17,000 Czech koruna, or £400, a month, which she says was always paid in cash and sometimes in Irish banknotes.
Ms Nezvalova never had any contact with Mr Lawlor and says she destroyed all material relating to the Irish Consortium some months after Mr McElliot moved out in 1995.
Last night Mr Lawlor said the material left behind in the apartment was "unimportant" as the important company files were with his Czech lawyer. Last Friday he identified his lawyer as a Dr Kavalek in Prague, but he declined to elaborate last night.
Information relating to a £600,000 loan Mr Lawlor received from an investment group based in Prague that was drawn down from an account in Liechtenstein is also believed to be with Mr Lawlor's lawyer in Prague.
The Irish Consortium was registered with the Companies Office in Prague on February 15th, 1995. It listed among its activities "providing activities in the area of administration of housing fund" [sic].
Mr Lawlor is listed as a member of the supervisory board on the date of incorporation, with a 33 1/3 per cent shareholding.
Yesterday Ms Nezvalova spoke of her shock on realising that Mr McElliot had left her with a phone bill of 40,000 Czech koruna (£903) that she was unable to pay.
Because Mr McElliot paid all bills through the company, Ms Nezvalova says she is sure Mr Lawlor is aware of the outstanding debt. "If Mr Lawlor and his business are serious, he will pay the debt," she said. Yesterday evening Mr Lawlor said he knew nothing of the outstanding debt.
"Mr McElliot . . . was on medication at the time and I am sure it was just an oversight on his part," he said. Mr McElliot suffered respiratory problems and died in Ireland in 1996, he added.
He said the outstanding debt "would be dealt with".
