FitzPatrick not guilty in Quinn-Anglo trial

The jury in the trial of three former Anglo Irish Bank directors has acquitted former chairman Sean FitzPatrick on all counts.

Mr FitzPatrick, was found not guilty after the jury deliberated for nearly 14 hours of deliberation over four days.

Judge Martin Nolan told him he was free to go. The jurors are deliberating on the charges against Pat Whelan and William McAteer and will return in the morning.

Mr FitzPatrick, Mr McAteer and Mr Whelan, were charged at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court with breaching Section 60 of the Companies Act 1963 by lending money to investors to buy shares in Anglo.

Mr Whelan (51) of Malahide, Dublin and Mr McAteer (63) of Rathgar, Dublin were accused of 16 counts of providing unlawful financial assistance to 16 individuals in July 2008 to buy shares in the bank. The 16 individuals are six members of the Quinn family and the Maple Ten group of investors.

Mr FitzPatrick (65) of Greystones, Co Wicklow, was charged with ten counts of loaning money to the Maple Ten.

All three denied the charges. The jury were earlier ordered to acquit Mr Whelan and Mr FitzPatrick of a series of related counts.

The Maple Ten deal was designed to unwind the 29.4 per cent control of the bank which businessman Sean Quinn had built up through investment tools known as Contracts for Difference (CFDs).

The ten investors were loaned a total of €450 million by Anglo to buy around 10 per cent of the shares which Mr Quinn controlled. Mr Quinn’s wife and five children were also loaned €169 million to buy nearly 15 per cent of the stock.