The Supreme Court is hearing an appeal on behalf of former banker Denis Casey who was convicted for his role in a €7.2bn conspiracy to defraud.
The former head of Irish Life & Permanent was jailed for what the trial judge described as “a deceitful and corrupt” scheme.
In July 2016, Mr Casey was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the public about the state of Anglo Irish Bank in 2008.
The jury heard he and others, including Anglo’s former Chief Executive David Drumm, engaged in multi-billion euro circular transactions between the two banks that resulted in Anglo looking €7.2bn healthier than it actually was.
He was jailed for two years and nine months and lost an appeal against his conviction before the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court has now begun hearing his latest appeal.
The Financial Regulator featured throughout the trial, with defence teams claiming it urged them to put on the so-called green jersey in the midst of an unprecedented global financial crisis.
Mr Casey’s lawyers told the court the regulator knew about the transactions and they believe he should have been allowed to use that as a defence.
The prosecution says there’s no evidence to support the claim.
It will ultimately be left to the judges of the Supreme Court to decide whether the defence of ‘officially induced error’ was applicable in this case.
