Seánie stands out like a sore banker in the dock
In his smart navy blazer, perfectly-pressed blue shirt, pink silk tie and light brown chinos, the attire of the former chief executive and chairman of Anglo Irish Bank contrasted sharply with the hoodies, jeans, T-shirts and trainers that seem de rigueur for most of his fellow defendants.
The comparison was maintained in the nature of the charges against the 64-year-old banker given the predominance of public order offences, drug possession and other petty crime which are the usual fare of the District Court.
Seánie Fitz might not have been facing charges of single-handedly bringing about Ireland’s economic collapse as some might have wished — but prosecutions for a white-collar crime are still a relative rarity in the Irish legal system.
Yet, in his heart, he probably knew such a fate awaited him given that the investigation into Anglo, which has dragged on for over three years, is nearing completion.
The silver-haired financier may not have been surprised to find members of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation waiting to arrest him at Dublin Airport shortly after 5.30am yesterday after he got off a flight from the US. As his solicitor Michael Staines pointed out in court, his client had met gardaí by “prior arrangement”.
However, several other travellers at the airport, many of whom appeared to have recognised their fellow passenger, are rumoured to have whipped out their camera phones to capture a moment that some commentators believed might never happen.
It might have been Seánie’s third time to be arrested but this time it was serious.
Had he checked his smartphone over the previous 24 hours, the former Anglo boss would have known that a visit to the Bridewell Garda Station to be formally charged with criminal offences awaited him given the similar experience which befell his former underlings, Willie McAteer and Pat Whelan on Monday.
Looking freshly tanned from his recent sojourn in the US, Seánie — who has reputedly a monthly income of just €188 — appeared nervous as he was led out from the Bridewell to a waiting Garda van to be conveyed the short journey to the Criminal Courts of Justice.
A jacket placed carefully over his arms concealed the ignominious pair of handcuffs in which he had been shackled from watching photographers as he joined several other arrested souls in the modern day version of a black maria.
At 11.15am his name was called by the clerk in Court 1 as the former Anglo boss was led up from a holding cell he was sharing with the usual bunch of ne’er do wells who are detained before making a court appearance.
Seánie sat behind a glass panel with his arms folded in a position that looked defensive and perhaps, defiant.
He cast an occasional nervous glance into the body of the court but studiously avoided making direct eye contact with any of the vast media posse assembled in the front ranks of the courtroom.
He listened carefully as Detective Sergeant Brian Mahon of the GBFI outlined details of his arrest.
The court heard Seánie had replied “I do” when asked if he understood he was being cautioned. However, he responded “no comment” to each of 16 charges of authorising allegedly illegal loans to individuals to buy shares in Anglo on dates in Jul 2008.
His demeanour turned more anxious as Judge Cormac Dunne fixed bail terms which included conditions that he continue to reside at his home at Carnaderry, Whitshed Rd, Greystones, Co Wicklow.
He was instructed to provide gardaí with 48 hours’ notice of any change of address or travel outside the jurisdiction, while also being required to sign on every Wednesday between 9am and 9pm at Irishtown Garda Station.
Twenty minutes later, Seánie was called back by the judge from his holding cell to sign a bail bond of €1,000, as well as acknowledging the independent surety of €10,000 which had been put up by his sister Joyce O’Connor who had sat quietly at the back of the courtroom, clearly disliking her need to be in such a forum.
Informed he was free to leave, the retired banker returned briefly to the cells to retrieve his belongings before triggering a media frenzy on his departure from the court buildings as he walked assuredly yet slightly nervously to a waiting taxi with tinted windows in the company of his solicitor.
Seánie will hook up with his former Anglo colleagues, Willie McAteer and Pat Whelan on Oct 8 at the Dublin District Court for a reunion that will seem a world away from their old milieu of boardrooms and golf courses.
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