Anglo Tapes: No-one to be investigated despite revelations that shocked nation
Central Bank says it won’t make criminal complaint to gardai or 

ODCE

DONAL O’DONOVAN – 24 SEPTEMBER 2013

NO-ONE is to be investigated over the shocking revelations contained in the Anglo Tapes published this summer by the Irish Independent, the Central Bank has said.

The Central Bank said it will not be making criminal complaints to theGardai or the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement following publication of the Tapes.

The content of recordings of internal telephone calls at Anglo Irish Bank made in the period before and after its €30bn state rescue had raised concerns the bank may have deliberately misrepresented its financial position when it sought financial support from the Central Bank in 2008.

However in a statement issued today the regulator said it does not believe any new issues were revealed that relate to suspected criminal offences.

“No new issues have been identified that relate to suspected criminal offences having occurred and as a result, the Central Bank does not intend, and is not required, to make any further statutory reports of suspected criminal offences to AnGarda Síochána or the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement in relation to this matter,” the Central Bank said in a statement.

The leaked conversations of executives at Anglo Irish mocking its rescue stoked ire across Ireland and Europe, tarnishing the country's image as an austerity success story just as it prepares to complete its bailout by the end of the year.

The tapes showed David Drumm, then-chief executive of Anglo Irish, saying he would demand "moolah" - slang for money - from the central bank. Another executive was taped singing a pre-war verse of the German national anthem as they discussed money flowing in from Germany after the government guaranteed the banks.

Bankers on the tapes apologised for the tone of the comments, but denied any wrongdoing.

The bank eventually cost taxpayers some €30bn during the financial crisis, almost one-fifth of the country's annual output.