Action by director of IFSC firms settled

An action by a managing director of three financial institutions located in the IFSC against his employers was settled at the High Court yesterday.

Ms Justice Laffoy was told by Mr Ercus Stewart SC, for Mr Patrick von Gordon, that his client's claim was to be dismissed with no order for costs. Mr Paul Gallagher SC, for the institutions, agreed.

Mr von Gordon, of Victoria Village, Rathgar, Dublin had initiated proceedings to restrain his dismissal. The action was against Helaba Dublin Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen International; Heleba International Finance plc; Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale and Helaba Finance BV.

They have offices at the International Financial Services Centre at Guild Street, Dublin.

Mr Gordon was managing director of the first, second and fourth defendants and general manager of the third. He had worked with the defendants since 1999 and in previous court hearings claimed he had had to take several periods of sick leave as a result of the stress of being instructed to implement tax evasion practices.

The four defendants had denied as "outrageous" Mr von Gordon's claims of wrongdoing. They pleaded his illness was unconnected to work issues, that he was trying to embarrass the bank and had concocted the connection between his illness and work in order to get a larger termination payment. They claimed he had agreed severance terms in March 2003 but he denied this.