THE APPLICATION by the Director of Corporate Enforcement for an order disqualifying former National Irish Bank (NIB) chief executive officer Jim Lacey from involvement in the management of any company has been adjourned at the High Court.

Closing legal submissions in the case, which were expected to conclude yesterday, are continuing and Mr Justice Roderick Murphy will resume some time next week. The case is expected to last no longer than one more day and judgment is expected to be reserved.

The director has argued the disqualification order is justified on the basis of the findings of the inspectors who investigated the affairs of NIB and NIB Financial Services between 1988 and 1998 and concluded that the bank was involved in widespread tax evasion and imposed unwarranted fees and interest charges on customers.

The director claims there was “a catastrophic failure of governance” during Mr Lacey’s tenure as chief executive and Mr Lacey must bear ultimate responsibility for “very serious wrongdoing” by the bank.

Mr Lacey has rejected the findings of the inspectors in relation to him as “fundamentally flawed” and has argued he discharged his responsibilities as chief executive “diligently and competently”. He has rejected the inspectors’ finding that senior management were aware of the existence of bogus non-resident accounts in the bank.

Since leaving NIB, Mr Lacey said he had been heavily involved in various management and advisory positions in the State and private sector, nationally and internationally, and had discharged his duties in all cases “without even a hint of criticism”.