Sir, – Further to Fintan O’Toole’s rightly furious piece (“Triumph of the spivs as democracy is sidelined”, Opinion, November 8th), there is an aspect of the controversy over whether or not we should pay the Anglo bondholders which has received no attention to date, but which should be examined. This is the potential for corruption in the present arrangements.
The people and/or banks who bought the Anglo bonds at a discount, and who were handsomely rewarded last week by our Government, are, presumably, investment bankers with very good contacts in the ECB, or at the very least some of them are. We do not know their identity. We do know, however, of the existence of offshore havens like Bahrain, the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man.
What is there to stop corrupt officials in the ECB making a secret deal with speculators to share in the profits provided by the Irish Government, by insisting on full payment by us, and then depositing their ill-gotten gains in these places, no questions asked, or even themselves buying these bonds, with the same result?
Of course, such a suggestion will be pooh-poohed and perhaps denounced as unworthy, even despicable. The very thought of it! Bankers are all honourable people, aren’t they? – Yours, etc,