FF/FG/Green Government - Part 3

9 years to get proof that the Siteserv deal was absolutely red rotten and surrounded in corruption. The taxpayer lost over 100m in that great deal. They didn't shred all the evidence it seems but it's still a bit of a whitewash - what a surprise!

Final report on Siteserv sale published (rte.ie)

A report into the sale by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) of Siteserv to a company controlled by Denis O'Brien has found Siteserv's decision to offer the businessman exclusivity on the deal in February 2012 was "tainted by impropriety" from the perspective of the bank.

It found the decision favoured Mr O'Brien as exclusivity "conferred on him a significant advantage over the other bidders seeking to acquire the Siteserv Group".

It says this decision was "not reasonable" from the point of view of IBRC bank.

The report found that Robert Dix "gave false, misleading and untruthful evidence in sworn affidavits" to the Commission of Investigation.

The commission concluded that the bank made its decision to approve the sale of the Siteserv Group to Mr O’Brien in good faith, but based on "misleading and incomplete information provided to it by the Company".

"In the light of all the matters set out above, the commission finds that it can be concluded that the Siteserv transaction was not commercially sound in respect of the manner in which it was conducted, the decisions made and the outcomes achieved," the report said.

"This 'below the surface’ process meant that steps were taken and decisions made…in the course of the Siteserv sale process in a manner that was manifestly improper and which undermined the integrity of the Siteserv sale process," the commission concluded.

Publishing the report, the Government said it accepts the findings of the commission, which it said "shines a light on unacceptable practices by certain parties during the course of the transaction".

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New Politics, FG style!

Some lessons learned perhaps? Taxpayer loses as per usual. Disgusting stuff...

Another scandal on the list for GE.Next

Yep and look how long it took. Another win for the friendly legals. They do love a lengthy investigation... Delay after delay after delay.

I wonder will Anchorage have something to say about the dodgy deal?

A good summary

Siteserv deal - what was the controversy about? (rte.ie)

But, in 2012, Siteserv was under significant financial pressure and owed IBRC, the former Anglo Irish Bank, €150m.

When Siteserv was sold for €45m in 2012, the bank wrote off €119m of the €150m it was owed.

As IBRC was State-owned, the loan was effectively owed to the taxpayer.

One of the biggest issues raised following the deal was a claim that IBRC could have recouped more money by selling Siteserv to another bidder.

A fund called Anchorage claimed to have offered a higher price.

However, the fact that a rival bidder raised questions about how much money the State could recoup sparked a flurry of political claims that the taxpayer could have got a better deal.

To complicate matters further, the bank agreed that the deal could include a €5m payment to the shareholders in Siteserv.

This is unusual, because normally, if a bank is writing off money, the shareholders would be completely wiped out.

A third unusual aspect of the transaction was that law firm Arthur Cox was acting for Siteserv, but also acted for Denis O'Brien during the purchase.

Seven years later, he has published his report into that transaction.

Along the way, many questions have been asked about the length of time it has taken to conclude the inquiry and the expense.

But like everything about the Siteserv deal, even the inquiry into it has been controversial.

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It still utterly stinks. Given the timing I bet FFG hope the energy crisis and upcoming budget will take over the headlines.

The optics are wonderful. Have we enough blinkers though? 😉