Soft sentences for the Bankers

Muahahaha · 29-07-2016 01:51PM #1

The three bankers found guilty of conspiracy to defraud to the tune of €7.2 billion were sentenced today. Two of them worked for Anglo and the other Denis Casey was CEO of Irish Life.

Judge Martin Nolan described their actions as "dishonest, deceitful and corrupt". They conspired to defraud tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of investors into believing that Anglos balance sheet was €7.2bn better than it actually was as part of the "Green Jersey agenda".

Yet they are given sentences that range from 2 years to 3.5 years. With 25% off for good behaviour theyll be out in no time.

It is of note too that Judge Martin Nolan was the exact same judge who gave the Garlic Man a 6 year sentence for a €1.6m fraud. In that case the defendant had pleaded guilty and repaid the entire €1.6m he owed to Revenue before his trial even began. He repaid the cost of his crime yet still got six years.

In this case the damage done can never be repaid. The Bankers plead innocent and put the State through a very expensive 89 day trial and at the end of it all they get off lightly with sentences of between 2 and 3.5 years. They are likely to appeal to get these sentences reduced further and will have 25% off too for good behaviour.

Sure its a great country to commit multi-billion euro conspiracy to defraud and plead innocence. Even if you get caught and then are found guilty at trial the penalty will be negligible. The clear message to other bankers now is that multi-billion fraud is a crime worth committing because the pay-offs far outweigh the drawbacks.

29-07-2016 01:55PM

The bankers are unlikely to re-offend, the tax dodger will possibly do it again.

Muahahaha · 29-07-2016 01:59PM

Deleted User wrote: »

The bankers are unlikely to re-offend, the tax dodger will possibly do it again.

Is that you Seanie?

rgace · 29-07-2016 01:59PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The bankers are unlikely to re-offend, the tax dodger will possibly do it again.

Are you basing that on anything other than bankers renowned moral fibre?

VinLieger · 29-07-2016 02:00PM

The problem is the sentencing guidelines and limits for white collar crime are a joke

29-07-2016 02:00PM

wait for him... he's coming.

keith16 · 29-07-2016 02:01PM

Garlic.

darklighter · 29-07-2016 02:01PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

It is of note too that Judge Martin Nolan was the exact same judge who gave the Garlic Man a 6 year sentence for a €1.6m fraud. In that case the defendant had pleaded guilty and repaid the entire €1.6m he owed to Revenue before his trial even began. He repaid the cost of his crime yet still got six years.

Did 'Garlic-Man' not get his sentance reduced on appeal?

Skylinehead · 29-07-2016 02:03PM

darklighter wrote: »

Did 'Garlic-Man' not get his sentance reduced on appeal?

Yeah he got a 2 year sentence, for defrauding the state for 1.6m euro.

Any time there's a perceived lenient sentence, the go-to is What about Garlic Man? Like he's a paragon of virtue hard done by.

endacl · 29-07-2016 02:03PM

It was pointed out that none had benefitted personally from the fraud. And that Ernst &Young had signed off on the bizarre accounts.

I don't really have an opinion one way or another re the sentences, but the judge did start from a premise of 8 years each, and then took all the mitigation into consideration. And zero time suspended. It could be argued that the sentences are sufficient, given the fact that none of them benefitted personally (beyond the Celtic tiger bonuses, which every banker in the country was getting at the time), the fact that none will ever work in the industry again, the fact that it is extremely unlikely any will reoffend, and the fact that their reputations, both personal and professional, are in flitters.

Of course, this being the Internet, they should each be shot in the face with pellets of their own frozen excrement, before being torn apart by wold hounds, at which point the remaining shreds should be put on public display?

cursai · 29-07-2016 02:03PM

Soft sentences....Are ya mad. They'll appeal it and not do a day.

Walter H Price · 29-07-2016 02:04PM

To be fair its in keeping with all of the sentencing here , if you can get a slap on the wrist for rape or a suspended sentence for child abuse , what more can yo expect for white collar crime which we previously didn't even legislate against. our whole justice system is an utter disgrace.

29-07-2016 02:10PM

rgace wrote: »

Are you basing that on anything other than bankers renowned moral fibre?

You think it likely they will be in charge of a bank again?

Wibbs · 29-07-2016 02:11PM

Walter H Price wrote: »

our whole justice system is an utter disgrace.

This. Ireland is a great country to steal, rape, kill or defraud. If you even see the inside of a court of course.

29-07-2016 02:12PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

Is that you Seanie?

I imagine you think there's a joke in there somewhere -

seamus · 29-07-2016 02:12PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

It is of note too that Judge Martin Nolan was the exact same judge who gave the Garlic Man a 6 year sentence for a €1.6m fraud. In that case the defendant had pleaded guilty and repaid the entire €1.6m he owed to Revenue before his trial even began. He repaid the cost of his crime yet still got six years.

Yes, but he defrauded the state, maliciously and deliberately And he got 2 years, not six.

The Bankers plead innocent and put the State through a very expensive 89 day trial

You cannot punish someone for pleading not guilty, regardless of whether their trial takes 89 minutes or 89 days. It's a core part of having a fair legal system.

The clear message to other bankers now is that multi-billion fraud is a crime worth committing because the pay-offs far outweigh the drawbacks.

2 to 3.5 years in Mountjoy for someone who is or was a respected professional is not easy time. If you offered me €2m to spend 2 years in there, I'd tell you go jump.
They'll walk out with nothing; no gains from their crime, no job, no prospects.
They're educated and experienced, so they'll get work. But no more six-figure salaries for these guys.

If you think that any of these guys would say it was worth it, you're off your head.

Son Of A Vidic · 29-07-2016 02:22PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

The clear message to other bankers now is that multi-billion fraud is a crime worth committing because the pay-offs far outweigh the drawbacks.

It's already way to late, because from Ireland to Goldman Sachs & HSBC, their 'profession' has been and always will be riddled with fraud, deception, manipulation and organised criminal enterprises.

SEPT 23 1989 · 29-07-2016 02:34PM

Disgraceful but not unexpected

How many life sentences would these scumbags have got in the US?

HamsterFace · 29-07-2016 02:52PM

No one was sentenced for importing garlic, they were sentenced for personally profiting millions in tax evasion. I don't know why people are so keen to play down that crime.

Fleawuss · 29-07-2016 02:55PM

The litany of soft sentences continues. Bad childhood, good childhood, mitigate mitigate mitigate. Starting sentence should have been 25. Mitigate to 20. Get them out in 15. But that's too harsh. Not Irish. Punitive. Blah de ducking blah.

FalconGirl · 29-07-2016 02:57PM

F**kind idiot judges don't take into account the wider effects on the economy, all the people that lost their jobs as a result, families torn apart and suicides caused in part by the economic crash.

Gob****es. Sure why wouldn't it happen again? That's what really grates on me. If your a greedy sociopathic fcuk and you meander your way into the right social circles in this little island, you can absolutely run amok. There is little to stop you.

Borderfox · 29-07-2016 02:58PM

Judge was late for erotic massage?

Alf Stewart. · 29-07-2016 03:03PM

keith16 wrote: »

Garlic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttYdJRtmZJU

Bubbaclaus · 29-07-2016 03:21PM

Muahahaha wrote: »

The three bankers found guilty for fraud to the tune of €7.2 billion were sentenced today. Two of them worked for Anglo and the other Denis Casey was CEO of Irish Life.
It is of note too that Judge Martin Nolan was the exact same judge who gave the Garlic Man a 6 year sentence for a €1.6m fraud. In that case the defendant had pleaded guilty and repaid the entire €1.6m he owed to Revenue before his trial even began. He repaid the cost of his crime yet still got six years.

Garlic man committed mass tax evasion, which is a far more serious crime than what the Anglo three committed. Of course if you are biased you will just see the 7.2bn vs 1.6mn and raise your opinion from that.

I get the opinion from reading the comments on various websites this morning that some people actually believe they stole 7.2bn or something equally loony.

wolf9 · 29-07-2016 04:33PM

EY must have had the juniors on that audit. Incompetent. Yera sign off it'l be grand.

29-07-2016 04:38PM

Is anyone actually surprised?

Let's face it, I doubt if anyone thought they were going to be given the most severe sentence available..........

tayto lover · 29-07-2016 04:42PM

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

wait for him... he's coming.

Mick Wallace?

Sapphire · 29-07-2016 04:43PM

Meh, not one bit surprised.

Jimbob1977 · 29-07-2016 04:45PM

wolf9 wrote: »

EY must have had the juniors on that audit. Incompetent. Yera sign off it'l be grand.

That's quite likely. Banking is a very specialised sector. Many auditors are straight out of university and wouldn't be familiar with the concepts, evidence and terminology.

I was an auditor. On my first job, I would have accepted anything.

Another flaw is that every bank was considered Blue Chip and rock solid. The partners' audit fees would be dependent on a clean audit and not rocking the boat.

Familiarity is a dangerous thing.

Arthur Anderson, the most prestigious audit practice, disappeared overnight because its Houston and Chicago offices missed the charades of Enron and Worldcom completely

tayto lover · 29-07-2016 04:46PM

How come the Banking Regulator was not in court as he was the watchdog who fell asleep or chose not to see what was going on?

Decent Skin · 29-07-2016 04:50PM

What emphasises the ludicrousy of this is another headline on the RTE website today

http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0729/805755-eamon-shield-cars/

Someone defrauding billions gets half the sentence of someone defrauding a few hundred thousand! Crazy!

As for "they didn't profit personally"; think again. If Anglo has rightly gone under then their own wages would have been wiped out. So by keeping it going via fraud, they DID benefit personally.

White-collar crap is not taken seriously in this country; they're seen as a different sort of scumbag/leech. Which shouldn't be the case.

Soft sentences for the Bankers

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