No proceedings to follow report

CORPORATE ENFORCEMENT:THE DIRECTOR of Corporate Enforcement, Paul Appleby, told the High Court yesterday he does not propose to take any proceedings arising from the report of the court-appointed inspector who investigated unlawful insider dealing by DCC plc and its former chief executive, Jim Flavin, in the €106 million sale of the DCC stake in Fyffes 10 years ago.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly directed immediate and full publication of the report via computer memory sticks. He also ordered the report be published later in the afternoon on the website of the director and that printed copies be made available later. The judge said publication was in the public interest and he noted there was no opposition by any party.

The costs of inspector Bill Shipsey’s investigation will be dealt with at a later stage.

Michael Cush SC, for DCC and its subsidiaries, S L Investments and Lotus Green Ltd, said his clients had read the report and urged immediate publication. DCC also welcomed the director’s statement that no proceedings would be taken arising from the report’s contents, he added.

Paul Anthony McDermott, for the director, said his side had asked the Irish Stock Exchange for its view on publication and the exchange had indicated it favoured publication some time before 6.30am today before the stock markets open. However, the director was in the court’s hands as far as publication was concerned.

Mr Cush urged instead that the report be published immediately, saying public companies were used to information becoming available at all times of the day.

After considering the submissions, Mr Justice Kelly said no rationale had been outlined for the view of the Irish Stock Exchange and he was directing that the report be published immediately via the distribution of some 94 memory sticks to the media.

The Revenue Commissioners, Irish Stock Exchange and Central Bank should all receive copies, he further ordered.

The report was presented to the court on December 21st last and has been distributed, by court order and with confidentiality restrictions lifted yesterday, to the director, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan, the DCC companies and Mr Flavin.

It comes almost 10 years after the controversial sale of the DCC stake in fruit distributor Fyffes in February 2000 and was carried out in the wake of a 2007 Supreme Court finding of insider dealing as a result of which DCC has paid Fyffes more than €37 million in damages.

The appointment of the inspector to DCC and subsidiaries SL Investments Ltd and Lotus Green was sought by Mr Appleby, following the 2007 Supreme Court finding of unlawful insider dealing by DCC and Mr Flavin in the Fyffes share sale.

In July 2008, Mr Justice Kelly appointed Mr Shipsey as inspector after he found circumstances suggesting unlawfulness in the conduct of DCC’s affairs relating to the 1995 transfer of the DCC stake in Fyffes and/or the sale of that Fyffes stake. A “thorough investigation” was in the public interest, the judge said.