No member of the Government has knowledge of any activities surrounding shareholdings in Anglo Irish Bank that are currently under investigation, Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea said today.
Mr O’Dea accused Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny of a “gratuitous slur” on Taoiseach Brian Cowen and on other members of the Cabinet in his suggestion they may have had knowledge of any of the dealings in Anglo that are being examined by the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
The Financial Regulator is also investigating €300 million in loans given by Anglo Irish Bank to a so-called ‘golden circle’ of 10 business people to buy its own shares. The bank loaned the money to 10 unnamed clients last year so they could take a 10 per cent stake in the bank that was originally part of a holding assembled by businessman Seán Quinn and his family.
Mr O’Dea said today Mr Kenny had “impugned people’s integrity” by suggesting any member of Government knew about the loans before Anglo Irish Bank was nationalised.
“Enda Kenny has been going around saying he’s not impugning people’s integrity, when in fact that’s not the case. He has impugned people’s integrity," he said.
“He’s impugned my integrity because he’s asked on several occasions whether any member of the Cabinet - which there’s only 14 members of the Cabinet, we are all publicly known, we are all identifiable - whether any member of the Cabinet had in any way colluded in what may turn out to have been a fraud.
“Now I didn’t collude in any way in anything that might have turned out to be a fraud. I’m 100 per cent certain that none of my colleagues did either.”
He was responding to Fine Gael front-bench spokesman Phil Hogan, who said he believed there was a link between Fianna Fáil and the circle of investors.
Mr O’Dea confirmed the Taoiseach had asked the Cabinet whether any member had any connection with the dealings at Anglo Irish Bank.
“Yes, the Taoiseach has asked. Not only has he asked that but he has also asked whether any member of the Cabinet has any shareholding in Anglo Irish Bank, you can be sure of that," he said.
“But let me say this to you – if, as I said I’m 100 per cent certain that no member of the Cabinet was in any way involved in colluding with this arrangement made with Anglo Irish Bank, which may turn out to be in breach of company law and therefore illegal and therefore warranting prosecutions.
“If I’m wrong, if I’m wrong in that, I will certainly come on Morning Ireland or any media programme in this country and apologise. But what I want to know is if Mr Kenny turns out to be wrong and if there isn’t a scintilla of evidence to support this gratuitous slur that he’s casting on the Taoiseach and all the rest of us, would he be man enough to come and apologise.”
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Hogan said: "Brian Cowen as Taoiseach, or just before he became Taoiseach, had dinner with the Anglo Irish Bank Board, at a time when he knew that the bank was in trouble, from information the previous month given to him by the Governor of the Central Bank.
“So he was actually very much involved in either asking the right questions of the Anglo Irish board at that particular dinner in getting full[est] possible information about their problems and the following September then he was faced with a very difficult decision about guaranteeing all financial institutions, including Anglo Irish Bank, up to the tune of €400 billion.
“So either he didn’t ask the right questions at that dinner or he did ask the right questions and went along and [provided the State guarantee] even though the bank was due to fail anyway.”
Mr O’Dea said he did not know the identity of any of the 10 investors.
“And to the best of my knowledge, neither does any member of the Cabinet, nor neither does the Taoiseach.
“I presume the Director of Corporate Enforcement is now in possession of the 10 names. If the Director of Corporate Enforcement feels that he can publish the names without prejudicing in any way any future action to be taken against any of those people for wrongdoing, if wrongdoing is found, then I’ve no difficulty with him publishing the names.
“The only difficulty I would have is that any actions taken now, either by the Director of Corporate Enforcement, or anybody else, might prejudice any future legal proceedings against those people and that would be absolutely disastrous. That’s my main concern.”
Mr Hogan welcomed Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern’s view that the 10 people should be identified. He said these were “very serious matters for the State” and for the country.