Gardaí expected to enter Anglo Irish offices

GARDA OFFICERS were last night expected to enter Anglo Irish Bank’s headquarters and examine electronic data as part of the continuing investigation into possible company law breaches at the bank.

Officers from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) and the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation have been conducting an inquiry into operations at the bank for much of this year.

The expectation of a Garda entry into Anglo’s St Stephen’s Green offices followed the application yesterday in the District Court by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement for a search warrant in connection with the investigation.

The ODCE and the Garda fraud bureau launched a high-profile raid at Anglo in February, removing a considerable volume of material.

The length of their investigation has attracted political attention in recent weeks, leading Tánaiste Mary Coughlan to tell the Dáil last week that the inquiry was “huge”.

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said on RTÉ on Monday that he was “frustrated” bankers had not yet been prosecuted over the scandals that have engulfed the sector. “This is a serious investigation in which I believe we need results,” he said of the Anglo inquiry.

He added, however, that he could not speed up the investigation or interfere with it.

Anglo Irish has been in State ownership since January.