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Balance sheet not an average financial statement, expert witness tells conspiracy trial

Summary

In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, four former senior bankers – John Bowe, Willie McAteer, Denis Casey and Peter Fitzpatrick – pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges for allegedly misleading investors by arranging a €7.2 billion back‑to‑back deal to inflate Anglo Irish Bank's 2008 balance sheet. The scheme, which took place between 1 March and 30 September 2008, was said to have no commercial or economic substance, according to expert witness Mark Hunt, a chartered accountant with experience at the Bank of England and the UK's financial conduct authority. Hunt explained that the balance sheet is a snapshot of assets and liabilities at a specific point in time, not an average financial statement, and that the bank's manipulation of the figures was achieved through artificial means. The trial, presided over by Judge Martin Nolan, continues with a jury and is expected to conclude next month.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Balance sheet not an average financial statement, expert witness tells conspiracy trial. Charges or matters: conspiring together and with others to mislead investors through financial transactions between March 1st and September 30th, 2008. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• September 2008 Hearing Or Sentence
• March 1st Hearing Or Sentence
• September 30th, 2008 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2016-04-15 Publication

Why: 2 billion back to back deal to boost their balance sheet for the year ending September 2008 partly because it was such a bad month for the bank, a court has heard. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial

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Read the original CNI report