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THE FINANCIAL Regulator believes it was “misled” by Anglo Irish Bank when a 10 per cent stake in the bank was purchased by a group of investors last year, according to informed sources.

Ongoing inquiries by the regulator into the transaction mean that what was presented to it last year as an arm’s-length commercial investment, “now looks like a very different deal”. The transaction, which looks as if it will cost the taxpayer €300 million, has created huge political controversy for the Government, which is under pressure to name the investors.