Dr. Jim Stewart:

That evidence to the US house committee related largely to the transfer of assets. Little can be done because these are historical data. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the ownership of these assets has changed completely. The ownership of assets with the break-up of the Soviet Union was very different from that under the current Russian regime. There has been a significant change in the ownership of assets. It may also be the case that any individual who made large sums, whether just after the Soviet break-up or subsequently, is suspect in nature and that questions should be asked about how he or she got hold of large amounts of cash or other assets.

Putting that matter to one side, there is nothing that can be done by this State. It is just an historic fact that Ireland was used at the time as part of the chain in transferring wealth outside of Russia. Many of the companies involved were liquidated within three years and there is little information about them, so we can only guess that they were doing this. The time period more or less coincides with the evidence given to the US Congress.