Denis Casey and three bankers plead not guilty to conspiracy

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Denis Casey, Willie McAteer, Peter Fitzpatrick and John Bowe have pleaded not guilty to four charges. The charges allege that they conspired together and with others to mislead investors through financial transactions to make Anglo Irish Bank appear €7.2 billion more valuable than it was. The alleged transactions involved interbank loans and took place in Dublin between 1 March and 30 September 2008.

The trial began at the Circuit Criminal Court on 20 January 2016. The proceedings were reported on 20 January 2016.

In his opening speech, prosecuting counsel Paul O’Higgins SC said the four men engaged in a scheme on a vast scale with no commercial substance. The report said the trial heard that former Anglo chief executive David Drumm authorised €7.2 billion in allegedly dishonest transactions.

Matt Cullen, a senior manager in Anglo’s Treasury department in 2008, described a transaction in which Anglo placed €750 million with Irish Life and Permanent and received a corporate deposit from Irish Life Assurance Corporate. He said the transfer was short term to cover the month end. He said he had no concerns about increasing the interbank loan limit because he believed executive management had tasked staff with completing the transaction.

The trial was continuing before Judge Martin Nolan and a specially enlarged jury of eight men and seven women, with proceedings scheduled to last up to five months.