B of I executive had bogus account

A former director of a major Bank of Ireland subsidiary has made a tax settlement in relation to a bogus non-resident account. He resigned from the subsidiary's board because of the settlement.

Mr Anthony Haslam, a senior executive with Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM), made a settlement of €16,446 in a case involving the under-declaration of income tax arising from the Revenue's bogus non-resident account inquiry.

The bulk of the settlement, €11,562, was due to interest and penalties.

The tax at issue was €4,884. His name was published in the latest list of tax defaulters in Iris Oifigiúil as he did not avail of the Revenue's recent voluntary disclosure scheme concerning bogus non-resident accounts.

Mr Haslam is head of strategy at BIAM, a very successful Bank of Ireland subsidiary which manages investments around the globe and which made a profit of €125 million last year.

He resigned as a director at around the time the tax settlement was published but retains his management position.

Mr Haslam declined to comment when contacted.

A spokesman for the bank confirmed that he had recently resigned as a director of BIAM as he considered it appropriate to do so in the circumstances.

Mr Haslam was managing director of BIAM in Britain during the mid-1990s and has told the bank it was during this period that he opened a legitimate non-resident account.

However, following his return to Ireland he forgot to close it, he told the bank.

He said this was an oversight on his part but that nevertheless, given the current climate concerning the banking industry, he felt it was appropriate that he should resign from the BIAM board.