David Diggins did not benefit from any of the transactions he arranged between Neway Properties Ltd. and the Bank of Butterfield, a Crown witness said yesterday.

And Diggins is not a director or in any way associated with Neway Properties Ltd.

Francis Napoli, the managing director of Prime Trust Corporation Ltd., the Gibraltar-based firm that provided the nominee shareholders and secretarial support for Neway Properties' Ltd, stated this during his testimony.

Mr. Napoli refused to come to Bermuda so he testified by way of videotape. He was summoned into a Gibraltar court room before a judge and Gibraltan crown counsel. Defence lawyer Julian Hall was also present and cross examined him.

He said that his firm operated the bank accounts for Neway Properties Ltd. and Prime Trust held 100 shares.

And he made it clear that Prime Trust had nothing to do with the negotiations with the Bank of Butterfield that led to the purchase of a west end London property called the Moulin Complex.

David Diggins, 49, of Somerset arranged the loan for 1,875,000. He was a senior manager responsible for all foreign and international loans at the Bank of Butterfield.

The Crown allege that he falsified the information contained in a memo and its supporting documents.

Based on that information, a loan for 1,875,000 was advanced to Neway Properties Ltd. who then used the money to buy the Moulin Complex for 1,623,000.

While Prime Trust was not involved in the negotiations, Mr. Napoli said his firm came in at the stage where the purchasers and sellers' solicitors were fine tuning the deal.

At that time the loan had already been secured from the Bank of Butterfield.

Mr. Napoli admitted that the Bank of Butterfield had inquired through their London solicitors about the identity of the real owner of Neway Properties Ltd. but he did not divulge this because of client confidentiality.

He said his firm does conceal the real owners because the real owners want to be unidentified for tax reasons.

However, Mr. Napoli said the real owner of the Neway Properties Ltd. was another firm called Stardale Ltd. based in the Isle of Man and the ultimate owner was a group of persons.

Mr. Napoli was not required to disclose those persons for reasons of client confidentiality. However, he confirmed that Diggins was not one of them.

At the beginning of his Supreme Court trial, Diggins was charged with stealing $2,812,500 and obtaining the money under false pretences and with intent to defraud, inducing Mary Faries to deliver the money to Neway Property Ltd.

without proper authorisation on August 29, 1995.

But those charges were dropped last Wednesday morning when Solicitor General Barrie Meade issued a Nolle Prosequi.