Publication of Ansbacher report set for further delay

Publication of the long-awaited Ansbacher report is unlikely to occur when the matter is next heard in court on Monday week, according to a number of sources.

The President of the High Court Mr Justice Finnegan, who received a copy of the report on Monday, has been given the names of a number of people identified in the report and who have expressed a desire to make representations to the judge on the matter of publication.

It is understood the inspectors gave a commitment to these people that they would pass on their request to the judge when presenting their report.

When Mr Justice Finnegan hears the matter again on Monday, June 24th, one of the main issues he is expected to decide on is how he will deal with the concerns of these people.

It is thought possible that legal representatives of one or more of the parties concerned could turn up for the hearing.

However, last month Mr Justice McCracken refused an application from two people who were due to be named in the report. The two sought permission to make a case anonymously in court against publication of their names in the report.

Counsel for the two, Mr Michael Collins SC, said the two people were going to be named as Ansbacher customers even though they had never knowingly dealt with that bank.

According to Mr Collins, the two wanted to argue against the definition of client used by the inspectors.

Mr Collins also said his clients had a second, more general argument they would like to make - that the High Court had acted ultra vires when it directed the inspectors not only to investigate the activities here of Ansbacher Cayman but also to name its Irish customers.

Such an argument, if successful, would have meant the Ansbacher names would never be published.

However, Mr Justice McCracken accepted argument from counsel for the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Mr Paul Appleby, and for the Attorney General, that justice must be administered in public and that the applicants should not be allowed to make an anonymous application.

The two then withdrew their case.

The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, and Mr Appleby have said they would ask Mr Justice Finnegan to authorise publication of the Ansbacher report in full.

The appendices of the report are understood to run to thousands of pages, indicating that, if published in full, the report will give very detailed information about not just the Cayman Islands bank's operations here but the dealings of its Irish customers. As well as the issue of publication, it is also expected that Mr Justice Finnegan will deal on Monday week with a number of technical matters to do with the wrapping-up of the 33-month investigation.

At the time the inspectors were appointed, it was said the Ansbacher operation could have involved "a few hundred million pounds" being salted away in offshore trusts.

It is not known what scale of operation has been uncovered by the inspectors.