Anglo trial: Customer described as deceased for ‘short period of time’

A customer of Anglo Irish Bank was described as deceased “for a relatively short period of time”, the trial of three former officials at the bank has heard.

Patrick Peake, head of fraud prevention at the bank, agreed for a period between December 10th, 1998 and January 25th, 1999, records for the account of John Peter O’Toole, the brother-in-law of the bank’s then chairman Seán FitzPatrick, showed him as deceased.

Giving evidence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Mr Peake, who also workedfor the bank’s successor, Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, agreed that in January 1999, the reference to Mr O’Toole being deceased was removed.

“So he’s deceased for a relatively short period of time?” Dominic McGinn SC, for the prosecution asked.

Mr Peake said that was the case.

Aoife Maguire (60) of Rothe Abbey, South Circular Road, Kilmainham, Dublin, Bernard Daly (65) of Collins Avenue West, Whitehall, Dublin and Tiarnan O’Mahoney (54) of Glen Pines, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, have been charged with trying to hide accounts, connected to Mr FitzPatrick, from Revenue between March 2003 and December 2004. They have pleaded not guilty.

Mr Peake told the court he left IBRC in December 2011.

He began his evidence by explaining the various information storage systems used at Anglo. These included a paper file system, a computer-based core banking system and a computer-based document management system.

He said he was made aware in April 2010 that a number of accounts had been removed from the bank’s core banking system and his role was to further investigate.

He said he reviewed the bank’s storage systems, including archived boxes of historical information. He also listened back to phone calls recorded by the bank through its share dealing desk.

Mr McGinn took Mr Peake through a series of documents that recorded information on Mr O’Toole’s two accounts with the bank. The deposit account for Mr O’Toole was opened in April 1990, the records showed, and a document recorded the account as non-resident. A current account was opened in April 1993. The data on the accounts showed addresses at different stages in Kent, London and Sydney, Australia.

Mr McGinn agreed the documents displayed in court were screen shots from the bank’s system and showed “a snapshot in time”.

Mr McGinn said in December 1998, a screenshot for Mr O’Toole’s account, when he had been recorded as deceased, was marked “hold correspondence”. Mr Peake agreed. There was also a code on the page “bef”. Mr Peake explained this meant the text would disappear from the screen once information was updated.

A snapshot of December 10th contained a note saying “hold correspondence” and “C/O Mrs Mary O’Toole, (mother in law to SPF)”.

Asked who “SPF” was, Mr Peake said it was Mr FitzPatrick.

Further snapshots opened in court showed references to Mary O’Toole on the current account and on May 8th, 2003, the name on the account was extended to “John Peter O’Toole”, with an address in Sydney, Australia.

Mr McGinn also asked Mr Peake if he had found “cash transactions connected with Mr FitzPatrick”. Mr Peake agreed that he had, and they were “internal transfers”.

He also agreed there were transactions from an account in Anglo Irish Bank Corporation, Isle of Man, to Mr O’Toole’s account, including one on February 11th, 1993 for IR£8,800. On February 12th, Mr O’Toole’s account was debited with a cheque in favour of Central Garages for the same amount, the court was told.

Later that month, another transfer was made from Anglo Isle of Man for IR£9,643, Mr Peake agreed. There were also sterling cheque lodgements to Mr O’Toole’s account, the records showed.

Mr Peake will continue his evidence on Wednesday before Judge Patrick McCartan.