Mahon Tribunal: Former Fianna Fáil TD Mr Liam Lawlor twice "blackmailed" a solicitor, Mr John Caldwell, to procure a share in the profits of a land deal, it has been claimed.
Mr Caldwell, in his statement to the tribunal, said that Mr Lawlor was paid £325,000 in an offshore account and given shares in several land companies as a result of the blackmailing episodes in 1995 and 1997.
Mr Lawlor "fabricated" notes of "non-existing (sic) meetings" and "waited in the long grass to invent a claim" for a share of the profits arising from the sale of land at Coolamber, near Lucan, in west Dublin, according to Mr Caldwell. "Mr Lawlor used our client's aversion to publicity to effectively blackmail him," Mr Caldwell's legal adviser recorded.
"In 1997, notwithstanding the settlement made in 1995, Mr Lawlor made a further attempt to procure monies from our client through his solicitor, Mr Noel Smyth."
The statement read at the tribunal yesterday continued: "Our client wanted to avoid a public dispute with Mr Lawlor in 1995, and he felt the same way in 1997. Again, Mr Lawlor used his knowledge of our client's aversion to publicity to effectively blackmail him."
Mr Lawlor, who is not currently represented at the tribunal, denies the claim that the money he received from Mr Caldwell was obtained by blackmail. According to Mr Caldwell, Mr Lawlor asked him to tender on his behalf for the Coolamber land, which came up for sale in 1987.
He knew from the start that Mr Jim Kennedy had some involvement, although he had no idea what the actual relationship was between Mr Lawlor and Mr Kennedy.
Mr Lawlor bought the land for £208,000 with money borrowed from the beef baron Mr Larry Goodman.
Mr Lawlor was very anxious that the details of Mr Goodman's involvement should not become public.
Mr Caldwell set up an Isle of Man company, Navona Ltd, to own the land, acting as trustee for an Irish company, Southfield Property Co. Later, when difficulties arose between Mr Lawlor and Mr Goodman, Mr Kennedy became "very upset" at this turn of events and said that these difficulties should be resolved among the people involved.
After the beef tribunal, Mr Goodman wanted his money back. Mr Caldwell organised the sale of the land by Southfield to Vino Properties, registered in the British Virgin Islands.
He said Mr Lawlor was happy that this meant the bank loan could be redeemed and that Mr Goodman's involvement was unlikely to become public knowledge. According to Mr Caldwell, Mr Lawlor had no claim to own a share of Vino, but was aware that Mr Caldwell was involved.
Mr Caldwell said he agreed with Mr Kennedy that they would each hold a 50 per cent share in Vino, but nothing was put in writing. However, Mr Lawlor later fabricated notes of non-existent meetings, in which he claimed a share of the land, and he gave these to Mr Goodman.
In 1995, to avoid publicity, Mr Caldwell "capitulated" to Mr Lawlor's demands and threats and agreed to pay Mr Lawlor £325,000 in deutschemarks to a bank in Liechtenstein. He also got a 12.5 per cent share in Pentagon Property Services, which owned service pipelines in Lucan.
When Mr Lawlor made a further claim two years later, Mr Caldwell again "resiled" to the threats. Mr Lawlor was given an additional 2.5 per cent share of Pentagon, as well as a share of land in Baldoyle and a second pipe infrastructure in Lucan.
