Extension of Anglo inquiry sought

DIRECTOR OF Corporate Enforcement Paul Appleby will seek an extension on his office’s investigation into scandal-hit Anglo Irish Bank beyond a July deadline set by the High Court.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said last month that progress on the investigation by Mr Appleby’s office and Garda into Anglo was “not at all satisfactory”. He refused a six-month extension to the investigation period and issued a deadline of July 28th.

Speaking at the publication of his office’s annual report, Mr Appleby said he planned at that stage to give the High Court a detailed update on progress made in the case – a prerequisite set by Mr Justice Kelly for any further extension.

Mr Appleby said he still expected the investigation to be completed by the end of the year.

More than 10 witnesses are not co-operating with his office in its inquiries, he said.

Some of the potential witnesses who are not co-operating are former bank executives, he indicated. Some are also based outside Ireland, while some were also described as important to the investigation.

The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement investigation into Anglo covers a number of matters including the bank’s loans to investors for the purchase of its shares; loans by the bank to directors, and matters relating to a “back-to-back” deposit arrangement with Irish Life Permanent for the benefit of Anglo.

Mr Appleby defended the length of time it is taking his office to complete its investigation, saying that “substantial” progress had been made in a “complex” case.

“While the office has received valuable co-operation from more than 200 people who have willingly provided witness statements to Garda officers seconded to this office, obtaining statements from reluctant witnesses can be a difficult and time-consuming task,” he said.

However, even if this co-operation was secured, it would be “too optimistic” to think the investigation would be complete by now, he said, citing time periods of four to six years for similar investigations by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.

“In my view, the Anglo operation is well ahead of this benchmark and I’m satisfied that it’s progressing with all possible speed.”

The ODCE sent a number of files – amounting to 8,500 pages of documents – on the Anglo case to the Director of Public Prosecutions in December and March.

Some of the files were not complete, but were “very substantial”, while the document sent in March, which related to directors’ loans, was “90 per cent complete”, Mr Appleby said.

The Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation has also submitted papers to the DPP in relation to potential market abuse arising from Anglo’s provision of loans to investors for the purchase of shares. “I should stress that it is a matter for the DPP, and the DPP alone, to decide which charges, if any, should be brought.”

He estimated that the cost of the investigation to date exceeded €1 million. Some 16 Garda, administrative, legal, accounting and IT staff worked on the Anglo case throughout 2010, with two additional Gardaí temporarily assigned to the investigation towards the end of the year.