Sean Fitzpatrick trial, Anglo Irish Bank
The jury at the Anglo Irish
Bank trial has returned not guilty verdicts on all charges against the bank’s
former chairman Seán FitzPatrick.
Judge Martin Nolan told Mr
FitzPatrick he was free to go after the jury of seven women and five men
acquitted him on all counts of providing unlawful financial assistance to the
so-called Maple 10 businessmen to buy Anglo shares in July 2008. The jury had been
deliberating for more than 13 hours.
Mr Fitzpatrick (65) smiled
as the verdicts were read out in the silent, crowded courtroom. Leaning forward
in the dock, his hands visibly shaking, he listened intently as the foreman of
the jury confirmed not guilty verdicts on all 10 charges he was facing. He then
embraced his family and shook hands with his legal team.
The former chairman of Anglo
Irish Bank, Seán FitzPatrick, makes a statement outside court yesterday.
In separate proceedings, Mr
FitzPatrick is due to stand trial in October on charges of failing to make
disclosures to the bank’s auditors about loans he received. He faces 12 counts
of failing to disclose to auditors Ernst & Young the true value of loans
worth at least €139 million given to him or people connected to him, by Irish
Nationwide Building Society from 2002 to 2007 while he was an officer of the
bank.
54 witnesses
Yesterday’s acquittals came
after 11 weeks of evidence and testimony from 54 witnesses. The verdicts were
arrived at by majority and were given after three full days of deliberations.
The jury has yet to decide
on the allegations facing former Anglo directors William McAteer (63), Rathgar,
Dublin, and Pat Whelan (51), Malahide, Co Dublin. They have also been charged
with providing unlawful financial assistance to the Maple 10 and in addition,
they face six counts of providing unlawful financial assistance to the wife and
five children of businessman Seán Quinn.
Although Mr FitzPatrick had
originally faced charges in relation to the Quinn loans, the judge had directed
that he be found not guilty of these at an earlier stage in the case.
The trial centred on a deal to
unwind Mr Quinn’s 28 per cent stake in Anglo, which he held through CFDs,
contracts for difference – high-risk investment products that involve betting
on the performance of a share. At the time, the bank believed Mr Quinn’s
holding was destabilising its share price and feared a disorderly unwind of his
stake.
A deal was devised which
involved providing loans to the Maple 10, all bank customers, to buy just over
1 per cent each of the shares underlying the CFDs, with six members of the
Quinn family buying another 15 per cent. The Maple 10 borrowed €45 million each
while the Quinns were loaned €169 million.
Mr FitzPatrick did not give
evidence during the trial and the case against him centred on a series of
interviews he gave to gardaí in March 2010.
Over the course of five
interviews, Mr FitzPatrick told gardaí that he was aware the bank would be
lending money to the Maple 10 before the transaction went through. He told
investigators he was in the south of France when Anglo chief executive David
Drumm called him on July 9th, 2008, and said they had a solution to the Quinn
problem. He said the chief executive told him they were going to get 10
customers and lend them money to buy the shares.
“Above board”
Mr FitzPatrick said Mr Drumm
did not tell him the names of the Maple 10 or the lending terms. He did not
have a problem with the deal and that he had been assured by Mr Drumm that it
was “kosher” and “above board”.
Mr FitzPatrick said he
assumed Mr Drumm informed the Financial Regulator about the deal, as the
regulator had been kept up to date on all developments to that point.
