WINSTON Churchill described Russia as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, which can also be applied to the developing debacle around the latest attempt to coax money from James Hardie for the victims of asbestos poisoning. The riddle is the Australian Tax Office's ruling that the new entity set up by James Hardie ? working title: Special Purpose Fund ? is not a charity, thereby threatening the December deal to keep money flowing to asbestos victims. The mystery is why this fund had to be set up. Why not use the existing charity, the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation, which has been channelling compensation to James Hardie's victims? And the enigma is: why do investors think James Hardie's liability to its victims has been capped and are optimistically bidding up its share price? It has not been capped; the liability each year is limited to 35 per cent of cash flow, but the time for paying it is open-ended, and on one assessment the potential future claims are equal to the company's entire intrinsic value.