Irish Bank Fraud Investigation: Who'll Blink First?

The Irish government is under intense pressure to name the 10 people of interest involved in a stock purchase scheme at Anglo-Irish Bank last year. The reported purpose of the purchase was to bolster the Bank's shares to allow a large stockholder to dump his stock.

The people of interest, incorrectly referred to by the bank and government as 'investors,' were given 30 million Euros each to purchase bank stock which was then used as collateral for the loans. It is a scheme similar to check-kiting except on a massive scale. The stock tanked and the shares became worthless leaving the Irish public with a 300 million Euro tab. The 10 people of interest are described as having 'stature' in Irish society.

The State purchased Anglo-Irish Bank recently through a bail-out. Prime Minister Cowen has been accused of having a cozy relationship with the banks directors. He refuses to name the people involved in the stock scheme citing privacy concerns even though the Bank - and all of its records - is now publicly owned. Today Cowen said that it could be 'many years' before the names are made public, if ever.

People familiar with Irish politics describe this as the first steps in the circling of the wagons to protect involved business and political members. The fact that in other countries a stock scheme such as this is regarded and punished as a criminal undertaking, indeed a conspiracy, seems lost in Irish government thinking.

ButlerReport publisher, Evin Daly, this week sent an open letter to the European Union anti-fraud Office asking them to investigate the circumstances surround the Anglo-Irish deals and the government's involvement in them. Copies of the letter were sent also to all Euro MPs. Communications with EU contacts are ongoing.

The genuine concern is that the Irish government will refer the case to the High Court or to a 'Tribunal' where it could languish for years. This is a common and expensive tactic used to protect what is referred to in Ireland as the "Golden Circles" of connected business men and politicians to avoid prosecution.

Mr. Daly spoke today at a private luncheon in Boca Raton, Florida, where he reiterated his call for urgent intervention from the European Union. He stressed the need for federal oversight for Irish banking to protect shareholders and the public alike from the abuses of power that are being written about daily in Irish newspapers.

"The Irish public is so used to this behavior that it is accepted, although bitterly," Daly said, "It's time for the public to stand up and insist that those who have broken the law face the music." Asked how that would be done Daly suggested that the Irish (he is a citizen) throw out their sitting politicians and install news ones. "Cowen seems to have forgotten that his responsibility is to the voting public first, not to his election underwriters," he added.