Courts / Dublin / Report

Anglo and ILP management discussed keeping €750m loan as "tight as a duck's arse", trial hears

Date
2016-01-29
Stage
Trial
Primary locality
Dublin
County
Dublin

Summary

During a trial in Dublin, former executives of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Life and Permanent (ILP) were accused of conspiring to mislead investors by disguising €750 million in short‑term interbank loans as legitimate deposits. The defendants, including former ILP CEO Denis Casey, former Anglo finance head Willie McAteer, former ILP finance director Peter Fitzpatrick and former Anglo capital markets head John Bowe, pleaded not guilty. Testimony revealed that Anglo transferred money to ILP, which was then returned to Anglo via Irish Life Assurance, creating the appearance of large corporate deposits for the 30 September 2008 year‑end report. Calls between executives in March 2008 discussed keeping the transactions "tight as a duck's arse" and breaking the €750 million into smaller amounts to disguise the scheme. Additional evidence included internal emails showing daily outflows of deposits in September 2008, with the collapse of Lehman Brothers exacerbating the bank's liquidity crisis.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Anglo and ILP management discussed keeping €750m loan as "tight as a duck's arse", trial hears. Charges or matters: conspiring together and with others to mislead investors through financial transactions to make the bank appear €7.2 billion more valuable that it was between March 1st and September 30th, 2008 in Dublin; conspiring to mislead investors. Procedural stage: trial

When:

Why: Mr Gantly said he was purposely not using names because, he said, "the walls have ears in this climate". CNI source report

Case subjects

Denis Casey

Accused

Charges: conspiring to mislead investors (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

John Bowe

Accused

Charges: conspiring to mislead investors (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Peter Fitzpatrick

Accused

Charges: conspiring to mislead investors (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Unnamed accused

Accused

Charges: conspiring together and with others to mislead investors through financial transactions to make the bank appear €7.2 billion more valuable that it was between March 1st and September 30th, 2008 in Dublin (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Outcome: The interbank loans allegedly involved money being transferred by Anglo to ILP and then being put back on deposit with Anglo by their life insurance division, Irish Life Assurance.

Willie McAteer

Accused

Charges: conspiring to mislead investors (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Places mentioned

Secondary Mention
Court Venue
  • Dublin
  • Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Topics

Stage Trial

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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