Judges get tougher on white collar criminals

The numbers of ‘white collar’ criminals jailed for Revenue related offences, standing at nine so far this year, including the ‘Anglo Three’, is already three times the number jailed for tax offences in 2014.

Signalling a harder stance being taken by courts in relation to ‘white collar’ crime, figures from Revenue show that, in addition to the ‘Anglo Three’, a further six businesspeople have been jailed for Revenue offences since the start of this year. This compares to three for the entire of 2014 and eight jailed for the whole of 2013. The three jailed last year had sentences imposed from three months to nine months.

At Dublin Circuit Court last month, three former senior employees of Anglo Irish Bank received jail terms of 18 months to three years, with no portion of the sentences suspended, after they were found guilty to trying to defraud the Revenue.

In relation to the six other cases this year, where judges imposed prison terms, three offenders had a portion of their sentences suspended.

However, in those cases, all three had — unlike the ‘Anglo Three’ — pleaded guilty to the charges. The toughest jail term handed down in 2015 for a Revenue-related offence is three years given to former Anglo chief operations officer Tiernan O’Mahony, aged 56, of Glen Pines, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.

In the Anglo case, former company secretary Bernard Daly, aged 67, from Whitehall in Dublin was given a two-year term.

Aoife Maguire, aged 62, from Rothe Abbey, South Circular Road, Dublin, received an 18-month sentence.

The next highest jail term after Mr O’Mahony was three and a half years, with the final year suspended, handed down to a Dundalk businessman at Dundalk Circuit Court in May while a Belfast businessman received a three-year term with the final year suspended at Trim Circuit Court last February.

In three cases this year, offenders have had entire sentences suspended, ranging from three years against a Limerick businessman for Vat offences to a Dublin businessman who received a two-year suspended term for tax offences last month, while a Cork businessman received a two-year suspended jail term in April.