Net tightens on Anglo suspects with DPP files.
By Paul O’Brien, Ann Cahill and Cormac O’Keeffe
Friday, December 17, 2010
THE possibility of bankers being jailed for their role in the Anglo scandals will move a step closer today with two major files being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has confirmed the files will be sent following a marathon two-year investigation and said gardaí were confident prosecutions would arise.
The first file involves the "circular transfers" in 2008 in which Anglo sought over €7 billion of temporary deposits from Irish Life & Permanent to cover up the lender’s crippled balance sheet.
Mr Ahern said this investigation involved four main suspects with prosecutions likely to be sought on the grounds of market manipulation and deception. The file runs to 42 volumes and hundreds of pages, he said.
The second file relates to a secret deal between Anglo and 10 wealthy investors aimed at propping up the bank’s share price.
The deal saw Anglo lend €450 million to the so-called "Maple 10" to buy some of businessman Sean Quinn’s stock in the bank because of concerns over the destabilising size of his holding.
The minister said investigations were continuing into a number of other "relatively small" suspected offences, and that further submissions would be made to the DPP in the new year.
Upon receipt of the files, it will be solely for the DPP to decide whether to prosecute. That process is likely to take a couple of months at least. But Garda sources expressed confidence that prosecutions would arise, saying there had been extensive liaison with the DPP’s office before submitting the files.
Mr Ahern said this meant the DPP’s office would "have a fair idea already" of the information in the files, and he said he hoped this would "facilitate a relatively quick turnaround".
He also stressed the problem with staff not handing over encrypted passwords had been solved and gardaí were able to get all the information required.
More than 40 gardaí, backed by staff of the ODCE (Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement) have been working on the near two-year investigation.
They have sifted through 115,000 emails, taken 400 statements, including 72 classed as major, some of which run to 150 pages.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who was briefed about the files, said the public wanted to see "the law of the land applied to those who are outside that law".
Earlier this year, as part of the investigation, former Anglo chief executive Sean FitzPatrick and group finance director Willie McAteer were arrested and questioned but released without charge.
The first file involves the "circular transfers" in 2008 in which Anglo sought over €7 billion of temporary deposits from Irish Life & Permanent to cover up the lender’s crippled balance sheet.
Mr Ahern said this investigation involved four main suspects with prosecutions likely to be sought on the grounds of market manipulation and deception. The file runs to 42 volumes and hundreds of pages, he said.
The second file relates to a secret deal between Anglo and 10 wealthy investors aimed at propping up the bank’s share price.
The deal saw Anglo lend €450 million to the so-called "Maple 10" to buy some of businessman Sean Quinn’s stock in the bank because of concerns over the destabilising size of his holding.
The minister said investigations were continuing into a number of other "relatively small" suspected offences, and that further submissions would be made to the DPP in the new year.
Upon receipt of the files, it will be solely for the DPP to decide whether to prosecute. That process is likely to take a couple of months at least. But Garda sources expressed confidence that prosecutions would arise, saying there had been extensive liaison with the DPP’s office before submitting the files.
Mr Ahern said this meant the DPP’s office would "have a fair idea already" of the information in the files, and he said he hoped this would "facilitate a relatively quick turnaround".
He also stressed the problem with staff not handing over encrypted passwords had been solved and gardaí were able to get all the information required.
More than 40 gardaí, backed by staff of the ODCE (Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement) have been working on the near two-year investigation.
They have sifted through 115,000 emails, taken 400 statements, including 72 classed as major, some of which run to 150 pages.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who was briefed about the files, said the public wanted to see "the law of the land applied to those who are outside that law".
Earlier this year, as part of the investigation, former Anglo chief executive Sean FitzPatrick and group finance director Willie McAteer were arrested and questioned but released without charge.
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, December 17, 2010
Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2010/1217/ireland/net-tightens-on-anglo-suspects-with-dpp-files-139738.html#ixzz18fdWlZLk
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