AN OPEN LETTER TO THE DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE ENFORCEMENT
Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 08:42PM
Ian Drennan
Director
Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement,
16 Parnell Square,
DUBLIN 1
Dear Mr Drennan
In June 2011 - as you will know, since it was on your Office's application - the High Court ordered the disqualification of a former CEO of National Irish Bank ("NIB") from acting as a company director for 9 years. Other NIB senior personnel have also been disqualified. The basic reason was the bank's misconduct when directed/managed by the individuals in question - mainly its role in sophisticated tax-evasion schemes.
The loss to the State from these schemes was shocking at the time, but would barely raise an eyebrow today.
Nearly 5 years after nearly all of the State's banks were exposed as insolvent, no legal action has been taken against the vast majority of those who steered their companies from great wealth to multi-billion euro deficits, in the process doing cataclysmic damage to the finances of the State and of its citizens, as well as impoverishing many shareholders.
It is said, with justice as far as we can tell, that no crimes were committed. More questionably, it's said that no individual broke any term of his or her employment contract. It is even claimed - or at least implied - that not one bank director was in breach of his/her duties as a director even as they all managed their banks into insolvency and ruin.
The new managers and shareholders of the banks either share these remarkably benign views of the stewardship exercised by their predecessors or (more likely) assign a low priority to what they consider a mere "blame game".
However, in our view, this is not good enough. We are surprised that you appear to think that it is. Your office is responsible for ensuring that company directors, auditors and senior managers meet minimum standards of behaviour and probity. It is extraordinary to the point of scandal that there has been no visible action taken in this regard, and there is no indication of any intent to do so. This point has already been made to your Office privately, but you have felt unable to respond meaningfully. Your office has been a model of prompt and courteous communication, but we remain dissatisfied that nothing of substance has been said.
Your lack of visible action makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion that you are not going to do anything beyond what you have already in train in regard to Anglo. Our view is that those proceedings address relatively trivial matters and/or events which represent consequences rather than the causative failures of governance.
This letter is to formally request you, as a matter of urgency, to seek disqualification of every auditor, senior manager, and director (of relevant subsidiary companies, as well as main board members, and including shadow directors) of all banks licensed in the State. Again, it will be as obvious to you as it is to us, but some individuals will have little difficulty in showing that disqualification would not be appropriate for them. We suggest that it would serve the public interest for this to be confirmed, after full consideration, by you or by the High Court. It would also, arguably, be of benefit to the individuals in question. It would only be fair to allow those who performed their duties to the required standard to show the world that they did so.
We understand that protocols have to be followed. For example, in the case of NIB, Inspectors were appointed and your Office based its applications largely on the findings made by the Inspectors. Whether the same needs to be done for - to name but one - AIB plc, given the comprehensive reports already in the public domain and others apparently available to current management, is questionable, but if it does need doing, it is long overdue.
Yours sincerely
Fergus O’Rourke, Lawyer & former banker
Karl Deeter, Irish Mortgage Brokers
Seamus Carrick, F.C.C.A., Trinity Accountants
Eoghan O'Leary, company owner
Gerard Sheehy Financial Adviser
Kealan Flynn, Public Affairs Adviser
Deirdre de Burca, former Senator
David Hall, Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation
Brian Kelly,Independent I.T. Consultant
Michael Logan, Businessman
Brendan K. O'Rourke, Dublin Institute of Technology
Michael O'Neill Architectural Graduate
Cathal Malone, Barrister-at-law
Dermot Casey, Lecturer, UCD
Tom Baldwin,solicitor
Kate Bopp, Co-founder, N.G.O.
Declan Flynn, Kilternan
David O'Brien, Monkstown
Caitriona Warfield,Saggart
John Agger, Cobh
Dermot Kenny, Small business manager
Cathy Dalton Architect,researcher, lecturer
Joe Cunnane F.C.A. Accountant & Tax Advisor
Anne Hesnan, County Meath
Morgan C. Jones Actor
Nessa Childers, Member of the European Parliament
Andy Moore, Dalkey
T. J. Greene, Monkstown
Yvonne Sugrue County Kerry
David McCarthy, Clondalkin
Fiona Hanley, Art Director
Sarah Carey, Broadcaster & columnist
Denis Hinsley, County Clare
Ellie Hinsley, County Clare
( Your name will be added here if you so request in a comment below )
Copy sent to each T.D. and Senator
PDF version of the Open Letter here and of a legal background note here
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Fergus O'Rourke
Reader Comments (41)
Congrats on this initiative
1. As to deprivation of livelihood, this consideration certainly is recognised by the Court when deciding on such applications. Where the evidence justifies it, that consideration need not overwhelm the need to adequately mark the wrongdoing or (more relevant in the banking context IMHO) disastrous failure of stewardship. However, disqualification from acting as a director still leaves a lot of scope to earn a livelihood. And of course many of those affected may not need to earn a livelihood.
2. I am not an expert on the law governing the legal duties of civil servants, but I doubt that similar provisions can be found there. I am certain that politicians cannot be pursued in this way. Nor do I believe, in any event, that the failures of either of those groups are comparable to those of the people who ran the banks. It was their function to be alert to the factors which could "sink" them. None of the things that did sink them was unpredictable or new to the industry. Indeed, they were the same things that led to every bank failure in history. And the worst was the lending http://bit.ly/geNTLz
Judging from Michael McDowells recent piece about the Lowry tapes, the reluctance to pursue questions of this nature is not confined to the ODCE, but blights the so-called "free press" and the state broadcaster as well.
We have not been well served by those whose jobs it is to look after The Public Good, whether in the Press, High Office or the Civil Service. To be blunt about it, if they are too stupid, cowardly or incompetent to do their jobs, let them resign and others will take their place - and at a fraction of the cost!
Why bring in these laws and then ignore them in the face of blatant disregard and contempt?
For more information about corrupt politics and law, check out the "Common Law" category and "Politics" category on the left menu at www.theopensource.tv !
Watch the documentary The Secret Of Oz which explains exactly how banks create money out of debt, lend it to governments at interest, when all along we have always had the power to create our own money, debt free. It's that simple. Yet we've given away our power to print money to private international bankers who screw countries over every 20 years or so of this so called 'Business Cycle' which is nothing more than fraud, greed, selfishness and manipulation by private bankers.
Fixing the Libor rates in the UK, MF Global stealing money out of depositors accounts like Gerald Celente who had $800,000 taken from his account. And now the stealing of depositors accounts in Cyprus.
We all must be asleep to be still going along with this Global takeover which has been happening for years now in South America, Indonesia, Panama, Equador etc. and is now happening here. Well look how far doing nothing about those countries has got us, we were always going to be next... Read John Perkins "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" for more about that.