Sean FitzPatrick acquitted on all charges

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

The Government account records that Judge Aylmer directed the acquittal of Sean FitzPatrick on all charges on 23 May 2017 following his retrial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The former Anglo Irish Bank chairperson had been arraigned on 21 alleged breaches of section 197, concerning false statements to auditors, and six alleged breaches of section 242, concerning furnishing false information, under the Companies Act 1990.

The first trial commenced before Judge Mary Ellen Ring on 13 April 2015. On 2 June 2015, following legal argument, she discharged the jury and set a new trial date for October 2015. In August 2015, the High Court ordered a deferral to 25 May 2016. The retrial ultimately began on 21 September 2016, with evidence commencing in December 2016.

Judge Aylmer found investigative and prosecution defects created a real and substantial risk of an unfair and unsafe trial. His criticisms included failures to investigate how letters of representation were obtained or identify the audit staff who procured them; witness coaching, contamination and cross-contamination; document shredding; and a partisan and biased investigation. The account also records his finding that the coaching was not intentional or premeditated. He initially admitted the witnesses’ evidence in November 2016, but ultimately found jury warnings could not remedy the combined shortcomings.

The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement accepted responsibility in a statement released at the time of the ruling. The account described organisational reforms over the intervening years: specialist recruitment followed a 2013 staffing review, while training was provided in December 2012 and made available in 2015. It also recorded Garda-led criminal investigations and enhanced risk management as already in place when the account was written.