Conflict of interest warning by IBRC inquiry judge

The judge in charge of the commission of inquiry into the sale of assets by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) has told the Government that conflicts of interest could arise from his work on the 38 transactions under review.

The Irish Times has learned the draft interim report submitted to the Government by Mr Justice Brian Cregan includes a passage to the effect that conflicts could arise during the course of the work of the commission, of which he is the sole member.

This is one of the reasons why he has asked for a second judge to be allocated to the investigation. Appointing a second member of the inquiry would help Mr Justice Cregan navigate this potentially sensitive issue.

It is not clear what the nature of the conflicts might be but it is understood the judge is keen to avoid any potential or perceived conflicts during his work with the commission.

Nine months

In addition, it is understood Mr Justice Cregan has told the Government that it could take up to nine months to review each transaction. While some of these reviews can run in parallel, the judge has estimated that it could take up to eight years to complete the inquiry’s work. This is another reason why he has sought a second judge.

The commission declined to comment yesterday on these matters. The judge had earlier informed the Government that the commission's work was being stymied by issues of confidentiality and legal privilege being cited by the bank's special liquidators and by the Department of Finance. The Government is examining the introduction of legislation to overcome this legal obstacle.

The judge will shortly submit his final interim report to the Taoiseach, explaining why he believes he has insufficient powers to deal with the confidentiality issue. Separately, Mr Justice Cregan is believed to have examined the corporate status of Siteserv, which was dissolved by the special liquidators to IBRC on August 6th of this year.

The sale of Siteserv to businessman Denis O’Brien’s Millington in 2012 for €45.4 million – crystallising a debt write-off of about €110 million – is at the heart of the inquiry.

While the dissolution of Siteserv appears to have been done as a cleaning-up exercise following the sale, it may have an impact on the ability of the commission to seek company documents.

One option would be to seek a restoration of the company on the register maintained by the companies office. The commission is investigating disposals by IBRC, involving debt writedowns of €10 million or more.