Updated 18.20
Irish Life & Permanent’s former finance director Peter Fitzpatrick has been cleared of a conspiracy to defraud charge.
He was one of four men accused of engaging in a dishonest scheme to mislead the public about Anglo Irish Bank’s health in 2008.
The jury acquitted Mr. Fitzpatrick after almost 47 hours of deliberations.
On Wednesday, former Anglo Irish Bank executives Willie McAteer and John Bowe were convicted of conspiring to defraud the public about the state of Anglo in 2008 through a series of billion-euro transactions between the two banks.
They were back in court this morning and were told to return on July 25th for their sentence hearing.
Mr. Fitzpatrick is now a free man and left the court house without stopping to speak to the media – only to say that he was relieved with the jury’s decision.
The jury then returned to their room to consider the case of his former boss Denis Casey who faces the same charge. They’ve been told the court will accept a majority verdict.
The six women and five men of what was once an enlarged jury of 15 were sent home just after 4.30pm and will resume their deliberations on Tuesday morning.
