FORMER IRISH Life & Permanent (IL&P) chief executive Denis Casey was not interviewed in its internal inquiry into the €7 billion transactions which falsely boosted Anglo Irish Bank’s deposits despite initially being asked to co-operate.
The company had initially intended to interview Mr Casey and the two other executives who resigned over the deposits in February 2009, finance director Peter Fitzpatrick and head of treasury David Gantly, a spokesman for IL&P said.
But it later decided not to proceed with these interviews as the review was based on internal processes rather than the specifics of the transactions.
In February 2009, after the deposits became public, IL&P launched its internal investigation into how and why the company participated in the September 2008 transactions, which flattered Anglo’s books on an annual reporting date.
Mr Casey told the Garda investigation into the Anglo deposits that IL&P contacted him in April 2009 to say that a special committee of the board was established in February 2009 to investigate the transactions and review processes arising from the deposits. The company asked Mr Casey for his co-operation in the inquiry.
Head of internal audit at IL&P, Paul Keogh, wrote to Mr Casey’s lawyers saying that he had been asked to prepare a report for the committee.
Mr Casey told IL&P at the end of April that he was willing to assist in the investigation and requested a list of questions so he could prepare a written statement.
The company’s chairwoman, Gillian Bowler, informed shareholders at the firm’s annual meeting in May 2009 about the inquiry into the transactions. The following month IL&P sent a draft confidentiality agreement to Mr Casey in connection with its internal review and he returned the draft with alterations.
The company accepted Mr Casey’s suggested alterations in October 2009 and apologised to him for the delay in responding due to work pressure at IL&P.
In November 2009, Mr Casey signed the confidentiality agreement relating to the internal review.
The following month the company wrote to Mr Casey to say that Mr Keogh had “decided not to proceed any further in the matter”.
Mr Casey declined to comment on the matter over the weekend.
The IL&P spokesman said it completed the internal review “within weeks of the controversy emerging” and before outside consultants Oliver Wyman, hired by the company, completed a report into the matter in May 2009.
A Garda file on the Anglo and IL&P transactions was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions last week.
Neither Mr Casey nor any former or current IL&P executives are suspects in the Garda investigation.
The Garda inquiry is one of several investigations into the Anglo-IL&P deposits.
The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and a special investigator, former comptroller and auditor general John Purcell, appointed by the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board, are investigating the deposits.
