Tag Archives: Anglo Irish Bank

This morning.

Via Irish Times:

Mr Justice Brian Cregan circulated a confidential draft final report to witnesses on Thursday after seven years of investigation, in which he criticised a process “below the surface” where certain events occurred during the sale without the bank’s knowledge.

…Although the findings are still subject to change, the judge has reiterated the conclusion set out in a previous draft report last year that the deal was not commercially sound.

“The commission has determined that it can be concluded that the bank made its decision to approve the sale of the Siteserv group to Mr O’Brien in good faith, but based on misleading and incomplete information provided to it by the company,” the judge said.

Sale of Siteserv to Denis O’Brien based on ‘misleading information’, judge says (Irish Times)

Previously: How The Deal Was Done: Siteserv Timeline

RollingNews

Seán Fitzpatrick

This afternoon.

A decade after the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank and 12 years after he temporarily transferred loans valued at up to €122m without disclosing this fact to the board and the bank’s auditors…

Seán FitzPatrick has been expelled from Chartered Accountants Ireland after a disciplinary tribunal found he had brought discredit on himself and his profession.

They don’t mess around.

Justice at last.

Let this be a warning to others.

Seán FitzPatrick expelled from Chartered Accountants Ireland (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

A real-time analysis.

Ireland-born, Chicago-based medical doctor Joseph Sheehan conducts a ‘biopsy’ of a loan from Anglo Irish Bank taken out in 2006 and “still in existence”.

‘Mark Felt’ writes:

Interesting analysis of the Irish Banking crisis & powerful argument on the separation of loans from assets by the Central Bank. Will cause some chaos if correct! Comments?

Anyone?

Meanwhile…

Former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank Sean Fitzpatrick

Go about your business.

Simon Carswell, in The Irish Times, reports:

The full reasons why the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick collapsed may never be made public after a State watchdog decided to withhold a lengthy report on the case.

Director of Corporate Enforcement Ian Drennan has withdrawn his offer to provide a 415-page report on the case to an Oireachtas committee because it could not give him guarantees he wanted to legally protect him and his office from “litigation risk and associated financial exposure”

Good times.

Full report on Anglo trial collapse may never be made public (Simon Carswell, The Irish Times)

Pic: Rollingnews

This morning.

Central Criminal Courts, Dublin.

Former Anglo Irish Bank Chief Executive David Drumm on his way into the Criminal Courts of justice for his sentencing today after he was found guilty on two counts of fraud.

Previously: He Fiddled The Moolah

Sam Boal/RollingNews

Update:

Drumm Sentenced To Six Years For Fraud (RTÉ)

This morning.

Central Criminal Court, Dublin.

David Drumm and his legal phalanx team arrive ahead of jury selection for his trial on various charges relating to his time as Anglo Irish Bank chief executive.

These include giving the markets the impression that Anglo’s deposits were €7.2bn greater than they actually were.

Mr Drumm, 51, from Skerries in Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty.

The trial is “expected to hear from almost 100 witnesses and could last up to five months”.

Gulp.

Former Anglo CEO David Drumm in not guilty plea (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

In the Dáil.

TDs made statements on the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, received by Fine Gael’s Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

It followed the acquittal of former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank Sean Fitzpatrick earlier this week, after lead investigator from the ODCE shredded documents which were relevant to the investigation.

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty said:

“The first thing I think we need to say, in relation to this debate, is that Ireland doesn’t do prosecution of white collar crime and it’s not just this collapse of this trial or the acquittal of Seanie Fitzpatrick, but it’s, for decades now, we’ve seen that thread.

“We’ve seen the underfunding of resources, of agencies that are supposed to be tackling white collar crime, we see staff resources being cut and we see our legislative framework, that should underpin a strong, robust anti-corruption and white collar crime agenda, simply not there.

“My colleague spoke about the request, when the ODCE was established in 2001, and it was established as a result of the tribunals of investigation, the massive corruption that we’ve seen in those tribunals, tribunals that span three decades, yet only one conviction because of corruption.

“Despite the fact that we know that politicians were up to their neck in it, in relation to brown envelopes. Despite the fact that we know that people had benefitted, in terms of their own lifestyle as a result of backhanders given to people in influential places but CAB didn’t go in and seize the assets at that time, because there’s one rule for certain individuals and another rule for others.

“But when it was established in 2001, within a number of years, the director was requesting resources. The director wrote to Micheál Martin, who was the line minister at that time in 2005, and continued to write to him over a period of time, telling him that the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement was wholly inadequately resourced.

“Minister Martin at the time refused the request and at a time when tens of thousands of additional public sector workers were bing recruited, not an additional staff member was given to the Office of Director of Corporate Enforcement.

“Bertie Ahern, sitting for years where you’re sitting today, and said that they needed to wait their turn. And, at the same time, at the same time, Seanie Fitzpatrick and his ilk were setting in train the economic disaster that people the length and breath of this country had to endure over the last ten years. And that is a symbol of how this country deals with white collar crime.Continue reading →

Screen Shot 2016-07-29 at 11.50.43 Screen Shot 2016-07-29 at 11.50.51 Screen Shot 2016-07-29 at 11.51.00

From top: Former Anglo Irish Bank executive Willie McAteer; former chief executive of Irish Life and Permanent, Denis Casey; and former Anglo Irish Bank executive John Bowe on their way into the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin this morning

Judge Martin Nolan sentenced three former bank executives at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court this morning for their part in a €7.2bn conspiracy.

Former Anglo Irish Bank executive John Bowe was sentenced to two years; former Anglo Irish Bank executive Willie McAteer was sentenced to three and a half years; and the former chief executive of Irish Life and Permanent, Denis Casey, was sentenced to two years and nine months.

The three men were found guilty last month of conspiring together and with others to make Anglo Irish Bank’s balance look like it had €7.2 billion more than it had – in order to mislead investors.

Orla O’Donnell, on RTÉ’s Today with Seán O’Rourke, reported on this morning’s sentencing.

She said:

“He [Judge Martin Nolan] said this was a very serious conspiracy, a conspiracy on the public, on anyone who was looking at these accounts. He said people were entitled to rely on these accounts. He said he believed the starting point for prison sentences was eight years in this case.”

“Now he did say there was a lot of very good mitigation put forward, on behalf of the men. He spoke about the fact that this took place in the context of a dysfunctional financial market, the men didn’t gain any direct profit from their crime, they were acting in the best interest of their companies… they had very good mitigation in terms of people giving character references for them.”

“They were family men. They had all endured a lot of stress, a lot of criticism from the public since these events had happened. But, at the same time he said, that this was a very serious offence and he had to impose a prison sentence.”

Meanwhile…

Three former bank executives sentenced over €7.2bn conspiracy (RTE)