Mr Xavier McAuliffe, a hotelier who paid £52,500 sterling to Celtic Helicopters in 1992, said he probably would not have made the investment if it had not been for the company's connection with the Haughey family.
Mr McAuliffe said he knew Mr Charles Haughey and he knew his son, Ciaran, socially. The Haughey family used the grounds of Mr McAuliffe's Skellig Hotel in Dingle, Co Kerry, as a departure point for helicopter flights to the island of Inishvickillane.
Mr McAuliffe said that in September 1992 he was contacted by the late Mr Des Traynor and asked to invest in Celtic Helicopters. He said he would normally have expected information to be provided by a company before making an investment. However, none was provided in this case.
Mr McAuliffe said he had discussions over a period of time with the Haugheys in relation to the aviation company on issues such as the construction of a new hangar, the development of the company's maintenance services and the proposed purchase of a long-range helicopter. He said Mr Traynor was aware of these discussions and, as a result, approached Mr McAuliffe for an investment.
Mr McAuliffe said Mr Traynor "mentioned the figure they were trying to raise, £600,000, from various people and would I like to invest £50,000 in the company".
He agreed and on October 5th, 1992, £52,500 sterling, the equivalent of £50,000, was transferred from Mr McAuliffe's account at AIB, Jersey, to the Credit Suisse account of Zurich Ansbacher.
Mr McAuliffe said the payment was an investment, not a contribution. However, he said he did not receive any shares. He did not hear about the payment afterwards, nor did he ask about it.
Mr John Coughlan, counsel for the tribunal, asked: "Can we take it that you probably wouldn't have invested in this particular company or made a payment to this particular company other than there was a Haughey connection?"
Mr McAuliffe replied: "Probably, yes."
Mr McAuliffe added that details of the Zurich Ansbacher account into which the money was paid had been given to him by Mr David Deasy in Deloitte and Touche. Mr Traynor had told Mr McAuliffe to expect a phone call from Mr Deasy after he agreed to make the investment.
