Denis Casey on trial over alleged €7.2bn deposit scheme

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

Denis Casey was one of four former bankers on trial accused of conspiracy to defraud. RTÉ’s report was updated on 10 June 2016.

The prosecution alleged that circular transactions in September 2008 moved billions from Anglo Irish Bank to Irish Life and Permanent and back through Irish Life Assurance, making Anglo’s corporate deposits appear €7.2bn larger. Prosecution evidence was that the money should have been excluded from corporate deposits in preliminary results published on 3 December 2008, or accompanied by an explanatory note.

Denis Casey and Peter Fitzpatrick claimed they had no intention of misleading anyone and did not know how Anglo would treat the transactions in its figures. The court was told there was no direct evidence that they knew how the transactions would be treated. The prosecution nevertheless argued that the two former Irish Life and Permanent executives must have known, and that properly accounting for the transactions would have defeated their purpose from Anglo’s perspective.

Lawyers for John Bowe said he was not the most senior Anglo participant and had neither signed off on nor directed the transactions. Lawyers for Willie McAteer argued that the transactions were not dishonest and that he was a knowledgeable bystander rather than an active participant. The prosecution alleged that Willie McAteer authorised the scheme and John Bowe helped execute it.

In an early ruling without the jury, Judge Martin Nolan accepted that the authorities were “hands on” in the arrangements. However, he found that the attitude of the financial regulator and Central Bank could provide mitigation but could not provide a defence.