Fraud Investigation into former Irish Bank Chairman

Sean FitzPatrick was arrested on charges of bank fraud on March 18th according to sources close to the case. Mr. Fitzpatrick was a former chairman at the Anglo Irish Bank. A man fitting Mr. FitzPatrick’s description is according to Irish police is being held at the Bray Garda Station in County Wicklow. The Irish police would not comment further due to Irish privacy laws.

Sources close to the investigation confirm that Mr. FitzPatrick was indeed held for questioning.

Mr. FitzPatrick, a prominent financial business figure and in December of 2008 resigned from his role as chairman of Anglo Irish Bank after bank regulators found that he hide over ten million dollars of personal loans from the shareholders of the bank.

Anglo Irish Bank reports that Mr. FitzPatrick over the course of eight years obtained over eighty seven million euro’s. Mr. FitzPatrick would transfer the loans temporality to other financial institutions just before Anglo Irish Banks annual accounting period in an effort to let evade detection.

Mr. FitzPatrick’s activities might have gone undetected had the government not investigated the financial system after Lehman Brothers collapsed. Anglo Irish Bank was nationalized at a cost to taxpayers in the amount of four billion euro’s or five billion five million United States dollars. The state also bailed out Bank of Ireland.

Mr. FitzPatrick has denied any wrong doing however he does acknowledge that not disclosing the loans to the shareholders of the bank could have looked deceitful. He stated that at the time he resigned from his post his actions did not breach any banking or legal regulations.

Anglo Irish Bank has filed suit against Mr. FitzPatrick to force him to pay off the loans currently underwritten by them.

David Drumm, Anglo Irish Bank’s former Chief Executive under the leadership of Mr. FitzPatrick, were known though-out the Irish Construction sector has being the deal makers and big investors during the Celtic Tiger economy boom. The boom as in Britain and the United States has proven to be the cause economy done slide.

Mr. Drumm resigned from his post shortly after Mr. FitzPatrick stating that it was in the Anglo Irish Bank’s interest that a new executive be appointed to lead the bank through to new developments.

Anglo Irish Bank is still dealing with the cost of investments that went bad. The bank according to sources is expected to show a loss of over ten to twelve billion euro’s on its annual reports. The Irish Times reports that the loss would be the largest in Irish Corporate history and would cause the bank to request more capital from the government.

Brian Lenihan, Ireland’s financial Minister did acknowledge that there is an investigation under way and that the Garda or police have arrested an individual. He stated that he is being cautious not to prejudice the investigation and is eager for justice to take its course.

Mr. FitzPatrick’s lawyer Michael Staines according to the Irish press has declined any comment on the case.


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