The Bev Case: Was There Any Criminality?

Jackie laughlin

I should apologise for asking a question rather than offering an opinion. However, the question clearly implies my opinion.

If an Enquiry finds that 19 bank employees aided/encouraged tax evasion. If two civil courts then agree with that finding in the case of one of the bank employees, is there some reason why criminal charges cannot follow?

Is it that aiding/encouraging tax evasion is not a crime? Is it that the burden of proof would be too great to get a conviction? Is it that there is a reluctance in the DPP to press charges?

El Stuntman

several thousand cases of criminal stupidity were noted on election day in the vicinity of Castlebar...

seamus

Jackie laughlin wrote:

If an Enquiry finds that 19 bank employees aided/encouraged tax evasion. If two civil courts then agree with that finding in the case of one of the bank employees, is there some reason why criminal charges cannot follow?

The burden of proof is lower in the civil courts.
There are also a number of other factors that may allow a publisher, e.g. RTE, to get away with saying something that's not true if they can show they had good reason to believe otherwise.

Proving that you had good reason to say something was true (in a civil case), it not the same as proving that something actually *is* true (in a criminal case).

There have also been many cases of a criminal conviction failing against the defendent, only for a civil case on the same issue to succeed against the defendent.

gbh

Well if you consider that the case revolved around a system of loopholes that cost the exchequer roughly 1 billion then it probably was. But we are conditioned in this country to believe a crime is usually a snatch and grap or violent event where someone gets hurt there and then.

In this instance it was all under the radar and the suffering was caused due to cutbacks and closure of hospital beds or lack of funds for building new schools. If the exchequer had this money at the time, many more pupils wouldn't be sitting in damp dirty schools or many more people wouldn't be on hospital trolleys or hospitals wouldn't be closing.

But because it's a politician who may now become part of the government and because the government can influence everything from justice to public broadcasting then the outcome will be a coverup and business as usual.

But we voted in large numbers for this government knowing its track record so we only have ourselves to blame.

Jackie laughlin

I accept these comments but is there a crime on the statute books which refers to aiding, encouraging, facilitating tax evasion/fraud?

Mick86

Jackie laughlin wrote:

.....If an Enquiry finds that 19 bank employees aided/encouraged tax evasion. If two civil courts then agree with that finding in the case of one of the bank employees, is there some reason why criminal charges cannot follow?....

One reason why a criminal investigation will not take place is the fact that one of the suspects is a FF (ish) TD.

Jackie laughlin

Mick,
You can't even begin to think that before you establish that a law has been broken.

oscarBravo

Moved from Politics.

Mick86

Jackie laughlin wrote:

Mick,
You can't even begin to think that before you establish that a law has been broken.

The purpose of an investigation is to establish whether or not a law has been broken.

The suspicion that a law has been broken has existed for 5 or 6 years now. yet nobody from the Gardai or even the internal revenue has looked into the matter.

The cynic in me suggests that Bev is protected by her position, family and/or party affiliation.

johnnyskeleton

Jackie laughlin wrote:

I accept these comments but is there a crime on the statute books which refers to aiding, encouraging, facilitating tax evasion/fraud?

s.1078 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 (as amended). If the person is an auditor, then perhaps s.1079 of the TCA1997 would apply.

It may also be money laundering to conceal, disguise or remove money from criminal activity from the State to avoid prosecution for that offence.

Our man in Havana

I think that nothing is happening because at this stage no one has made a formal complaint to the Gardaí.

Mick86

Bond-007 wrote:

I think that nothing is happening because at this stage no one has made a formal complaint to the Gardaí.

Imagine that Garda X is on patrol in Castlebar tonight and he finds a body lying in the street. The person has died of a head injury. Possibly he was hit by another person, equally possibly he fell and hit his head off the ground. In one case a crime may have been committed in the other no crime was committed. No formal complaint is made to the Gardai.

Does Garda X ignore the whole thing or does he initiate an investigation?