Fitzpatrick says thanks to family for their support
GREYSTONES MAN Sean FitzPatrick thanked his family for their unwavering support after he was found not guilty of loaning money to the Maple Ten last Wednesday.
FitzPatrick (65) of Greystones, was charged with ten counts of loaning money to the Maple Ten.
On Wednesday, after the jury deliberated for nearly 14 hours over 4 days he was found not guilty and walked free from the court.
His co-accused, Patrick Whelan and William McAteer were found guilty on various charges on Thursday afternoon.
FitzPatrick, McAteer and 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.
Whelan (51) of Malahide, Dublin and 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.
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.
After his acquittal on all counts Sean FitzPatrick issued a brief statement to the media thanking the jury for finding him not guilty and asking for privacy.
‘First of all I would like to thank my wife, my two sons and my daughter and my sister who have supported me, not only during this trial, but for the past six years of great personal difficultly.
‘I would of course especially like to thank my legal team, solicitor Michael Staines, Senior Counsel Michael O’Higgins, Junior Counsel John Fitzgerald and Gavin McCormack for their dedication and hard work.
‘I would like also to especially thank the women and men of the jury who found me not guilty of all charges.
‘ To all my friends, who have stood by me and in particular two very special friends, I will always be truly grateful for their support during this very difficult time.
On Thursday the jury found former Director of Finance McAteer and former head of Irish lending Whelan guilty of providing illegal loans to ten individuals to buy shares in the bank. The jury acquitted them of six charges each of lending money to the Quinn family
The jury returned the final verdicts after 16 hours and 53 minutes of deliberation over five days. The men made no reaction as the verdicts were read out. All guilty verdicts were unanimous.
The trial lasted 48 days and was a result of the biggest fraud investigation in Irish history. It was the first time anyone was tried for the offence and the first time an enlarged jury of 15 heard was used.
Judge Martin Nolan set a sentence date of April 28 next at 2pm. He said he would be unlikely to give a decision that day but would hear the evidence in the case.