Accountant's disciplinary hearing adjourned

A PUBLIC disciplinary tribunal into the conduct of Wexford property investor and accountant Alan Hynes has been adjourned after two members of the three-strong tribunal stood down following claims of potential conflicts of interest.

Yesterday was the first day of a case taken by the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board (Carb) against Mr Hynes for alleged breaches of the code of ethics of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Mr Hynes was the director of Tuskar Asset Management, a property investment company which collapsed almost three years ago with debts of €50 million after investing in a number of property deals.

More than 50 private investors from around the State, including a number of medical and dentistry professionals, invested in the company, providing personal guarantees totalling several million euro.

A number of those investors, who had travelled from Wexford, Waterford, Clare and Dublin, were present at the public hearing yesterday. Mr Hynes was not present at the tribunal.

Counsel for Mr Hynes, Alan Cormack, sought the adjournment of the case on a number of grounds, including the fact that a number of separate investigations into Mr Hynes’ activities were ongoing.

One of the arguments put forward by counsel for Mr Hynes was that two of the three members of the tribunal, Michael Tyrrell and Aidan Connaughton could be seen to have potential conflicts of interest.

Pointing out that Mr Tyrrell is a consultant with law firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice’s commercial litigation and dispute resolution department, he said the law firm had been instructed by Carb for this tribunal. Hence “there could be a perceived conflict of interest in relation to the matter”, he said.

He also argued that Aidan Connaughton, a partner with Grant Thornton, could be perceived to have a conflict of interest due to the fact Grant Thornton has acted for other complainants against Mr Hynes, while another partner in Grant Thornton was previously appointed as a receiver by Bank of Ireland over Mr Hynes’ assets.

After hearing submissions from Mr Cormack and Brian Farren, for Carb, who argued that no conflict of interest existed, the chairman of the tribunal, Ward McEllin said Mr Tyrrell and Mr Connaughton had both personally decided to step down. Mr McEllin will now revert to the disciplinary panel, and will appoint two new members when a new date for the hearing will be set.

Carb was established by Chartered Accountants Ireland to regulate its members.

If Carb finds a prima facie case of misconduct against one of its members, it can appoint a disciplinary tribunal to hear the case in full and in public.

Last March, Carb announced it was postponing public disciplinary tribunals into four senior Anglo Irish Bank executives, including Seán Fitzpatrick and David Drumm, at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions amid concerns the hearings might prejudice possible future criminal proceedings.

In September last year, a two-year-old investigation initiated by Carb and led by John Purcell found Ernst Young may have a prima faciecase to answer in relation to its role as auditors to Anglo Irish Bank.