Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has insisted that criminal investigations into the banking crisis are not being hampered by lack of resources.

STATE-approved Empower Training closed its doors last Friday, leaving 25 employees with up to three months pay outstanding and about 1,000 learners concerned about what will happen to courses they have paid up to €4,600 to partake in.

It is being reported that gardaí will be interviewing top international financial executives as part of their investigation into Anglo Irish Bank.

The former financial director of Anglo Irish Bank has been released from Garda custody without charge this afternoon.

A former FÁS executive accused of defrauding the state training agency of more than €600,000 was served with a book of evidence at the Dublin District Court yesterday.

Thirty-three forgery charges have been brought against a former FÁS executive, who is accused of defrauding the state training agency of more than €600,000.

ANGLO Irish Bank is the subject of investigations by three separate state bodies, the Garda Fraud Bureau, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement and the Financial Regulator, it has emerged.

INCREASINGLY sophisticated mail and internet scams are on the increase as fraudsters use the recession to exploit vulnerable people in need of extra cash.

The National Consumer Agency (NCA) has today issued a warning that members of the public have been receiving correspondence falsely claiming to be from Money, Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).

EDUCATED fraudsters have enough know-how to use complex mathematical calculations to imprint genuine but unissued bank numbers onto fake credit cards.