'Volume of documents' will delay DPP

IT IS likely to be some time before the Director of Public Prosecutions will be able to decide the extent to which charges should…

IT IS likely to be some time before the Director of Public Prosecutions will be able to decide the extent to which charges should be preferred arising from controversies at Anglo Irish Bank, the Director of Corporate Law Enforcement has said.

Paul Appleby, in a review of 2010, said the inquiries into four matters at the bank had been a major preoccupation of his office during the year. A large amount of documentation has been sent to the DPP and further material is to be submitted shortly.

“Given the volume of documents involved, it is likely to be some time before the DPP will be in a position to determine the extent to which any charges will be preferred arising from these investigations.”

One file and three reports have been submitted, he said. The 400-page file concerned the provision by Anglo of a loan to a director in 2008.

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One of the reports had to do with the non-disclosure of directors’ loans by the bank while the provision of bank finance to a number of persons to buy shares in the bank was the focus of another report.

The last report was on the communication “of possible false or misleading information in certain Anglo public statements in 2008,” Mr Appleby said.

He said 2010 had been an extremely busy year for his office, with the number of insolvent liquidations to be reviewed in 2010 being three times the number in 2008.

The office received 1,310 liquidator reports on newly insolvent companies during 2010. It received 450 public and other complaints alleging misconduct in company affairs and 200 auditor reports on suspected company law breaches. An estimated 150 company directors were restricted or disqualified during the year, Mr Appleby said.