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…
Judge Nolan uses Anglo sentencing to give the now almost traditional kicking to the financial regulator of the day Patrick Neary
— Conor Gallagher (@Courts_hack) July 29, 2016
Also took aim at Anglo auditors, Ernst&Young @EYnews. He said that it beggared belief that they had signed off on the end of year accounts.
— Conor Gallagher (@Courts_hack) July 29, 2016
“They should have known what was occurring if they were doing their job properly,” he said, asking if it was a case of wilful blindness”
— Conor Gallagher (@Courts_hack) July 29, 2016
Three former bank executives sentenced over €7.2bn conspiracy (RTE)