Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Fri 02 Feb 2002#2.8m payment to Desmond firm for Esat stake examinedThe Moriarty tribunal is investigating a payment, believed to be £2.8 million, made to Mr Dermot Desmond's IIU Nominees Ltd on the day Esat Digifone was awarded its mobile phone licence.The payment was made to buy back 5 per cent of Esat Digifone from IIU one month after IIU had bought a 25 per cent stake for just £750,000. The 5 per cent was bought by the other two shareholders in Esat Digifone, Norwegian company Telenor and Mr Denis O'Brien's Esat Telecom.