Former Anglo Irish executive charged with tax offences

Former Anglo Irish Bank executive Tiarnan O'Mahoney has appeared at the Dublin District Court on four charges related to alleged tax offences.

Mr O'Mahoney (54), Old Long Hill Road, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, is accused of concealing a bank account, obstructing a Revenue official and producing an incorrect document.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between March 25th and November 17th, 2003, when Mr O’Mahoney was an officer of Anglo Irish Bank.

The court heard that Mr O’Mahoney was arrested at the Bridewell Garda station by appointment at 1.20pm yesterday and gave no reply when he was charged. He faces four charges under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

The former banker, who was a senior executive at Anglo Irish until 2004, was in court for the brief hearing yesterday afternoon. He was granted bail on his own bond of €1,000 subject to a number of conditions.

These are that he must sign on every Friday morning at Bray Garda station; that he must notify the Garda Síochána with 48 hours if he changes address; and that he must provide 48 hours' notice if travelling anywhere outside Ireland or Britain.

'No factual connection'
State solicitor Tom Browne told Judge Patricia McNamara that the case had "no factual connection" to the trial of three former executives of Anglo Irish Bank, which is scheduled to be heard in the Circuit Court next year.

Referring to the presence of journalists in court, Mr Browne asked that nothing should be said that could prejudice that pending trial or affect the rights of Mr O’Mahoney. The judge made an order to that effect.

Mr O’Mahoney was regarded by many observers as the favourite to succeed Seán FitzPatrick as Anglo’s chief executive in 2004, but the job went to David Drumm

Mr O’Mahoney had spent 20 years with the bank, he was its chief operating officer and was regarded as one of the driving forces behind its rise over the previous decade.

€250,000 pension
On his retirement from Anglo in 2004, Mr O'Mahoney received €3.65 million and a pension of €250,000 "in recognition of his substantial contribution", its 2005 annual report states.

He later founded International Securities Trading Corporation (ISTC), which had the backing of some of Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen. He raised €165 million for ISTC, but the venture was one of the first casualties of the financial crisis.

It was placed in examinership in late 2007, with liabilities of €871 million.

Earlier this year, Mr O'Mahoney and another former colleague from Anglo Irish Bank launched an Irish branch of Moneycorp, the multinational foreign exchange giant.