The High Court was told yesterday that it was possible that an Irish-registered bank may have accounts which contained monies obtained from a £800 million sterling (€1.3 billion) fraud in Germany.
Mr Justice McCracken granted a temporary order restraining DePfa-Bank Europe, operating in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin, from paying out, dissipating or reducing monies standing in any accounts in the name of FlowTex Technologie in Germany.
The order also restrains the bank from acting on instructions from third parties in relation to any monies standing to the credit of such accounts, except with the prior permission of the German company's legal advisers or with the court's permission.
Mr Lyndon MacCann read an affidavit by an English solicitor, Mr Ian Geoffrey Williams, acting for the German company. Mr Williams said the application arose from a major fraud perpetrated by Mr Manfred Schmider and Dr Klaus Kleiser, who were directors of FlowTex until February 9th last and who were currently on remand in a German prison.
Mr Williams said the application was part of proceedings brought to recover assets belonging to FlowTex.
FlowTex carried on a business of drilling and cabling and its special expertise was laying vast lengths of cable without digging up roads. The company also sold or obtained funds by leasing cabling machines which were found subsequently not to exist.
Mr Williams said he believed that, of the 3,300 such machines with a value of DM1 million each which were meant to exist, only 320 had been found to exist.
The fraud came to light only following an investigation into FlowTex's affairs by the German tax authorities towards the end of 1999. This led to a police investigation and the appointment of insolvency administrators over the affairs of the company and its directors.
Mr Williams said that, three days ago, one of the administrators had received documentation from the Irish registered bank DePfa-Bank Europe. That bank appeared to hold one or more accounts for or in the name of FlowTex Technologie Import, which was believed to be the same as FlowTex, having changed its status some time ago.
The administrators did not know how many accounts were held or were in the name of FlowTex with DePfa. It was possible that all or part of the monies yet unaccounted for, were either standing to the credit of the FlowTex account or had been laundered by its two directors or their associates.
