Courts / Dublin / Report

Anglo employee was "basically a form of gopher", defence counsel tells jury

Summary

Aoife Maguire, a 62‑year‑old former assistant manager at Anglo Irish Bank, is accused of instructing IT staff to delete accounts linked to chairman Sean FitzPatrick during a Revenue investigation into alleged deposit interest retention tax evasion. Her defence counsel, Patrick Gageby SC, argued that Maguire was merely a "gopher" at the lowest rung of the bank's hierarchy, acting as a messenger rather than an instructor, and that higher‑ranking staff carried out the deletions. He contended that the prosecution's claim of conspiracy was unfounded, as the offence was completed when the account of FitzPatrick's brother‑in‑law was removed from the list. Maguire, along with co‑accused Tiarnan O'Mahoney and Bernard Daly, pleaded not guilty to seven counts in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The trial, lasting eight weeks, is concluding with the jury set to deliberate tomorrow under Judge Patrick McCartan's direction.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Anglo employee was "basically a form of gopher", defence counsel tells jury. Charges or matters: seven counts at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• 2015-07-27 Publication

Why: Counsel said the IT staff were all higher up than Ms Maguire and only acted on her message because they thought, "rightly", that it had come from higher-up. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial

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Read the original CNI report