A former National Irish Bank (NIB) executive director, Barry Seymour, will be cross-examined at the High Court today in proceedings by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement aimed at having him disqualified from involvement in the management of any company.
Opening the case yesterday, Brian Murray SC said the basis for the application for a disqualification order against Mr Seymour, effectively the chief executive of NIB between April 1994 and July 1996, was the adverse findings made against him by the inspectors who investigated the affairs of NIB and National Irish Bank Financial Services (NIBFS) over a 10-year period to 1998.
The July 2004 report of the inspectors included findings that were "very serious" for any company but were a matter "of positive alarm" for a registered bank operating with its privileges and responsibilities, counsel said.
The inspectors concluded NIB and NIBFS were involved in a number of unlawful and improper practices, including the opening and maintaining of bogus non-resident accounts that enabled customers to evade tax, and the improper charging of fees and interest to customers.
Mr Murray said "a critical finding" of the inspectors was that responsibility for the improper practices that existed "rested with senior management" of the bank during the period of the inspectors' investigation.
In relation to Mr Seymour, the inspectors had made a number of adverse findings including that he, as part of NIB's senior management, had failed in his duty to ensure that improper practices at the bank did not occur and, if they did, to have them stopped immediately.
Because Mr Seymour was effectively discharging the functions of chief executive from April 1994 to July 1996, he had carried a great deal of responsibility for the affairs of the bank at that time, counsel told the High Court.
Mr Seymour had made efforts to address aspects of the irregularities and credit was given to him by the inspectors for that. Notwithstanding these considerations, the inspectors had found Mr Seymour had a responsibility in several areas, Mr Murray said. Although he had take steps to address problems with non-resident accounts, there continued to be no compliance in branches with Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) regulations.
Mr Seymour (67), Beaumond, Amersham, Bucks, England, opposes the application. He says he was parachuted into the job at short notice following the departure of Jim Lacey and was present for only 27 months of the period under review.
He put in place corrective measures when he was given internal audit reports (which disclosed substantial irregularities relating to DIRT-exempt non-resident bank accounts).
Mr Seymour contends that neither the facts as found by the inspectors nor the inferences they have drawn from them - which he disputes - come remotely near warranting a disqualification order against him.
Mr Seymour is one of nine executives or officials of NIB whom the director has brought disqualification proceedings against.
One of those, Nigel D'Arcy, Castledillon, Straffan, Co Kildare, did not resist the making of a disqualification order and has been disqualified for a period of 10 years.
The other seven are: Mr Lacey, Pine Haven, Grove House Gardens, Blackrock, Co Dublin; Dermott Boner, Chesterfield Avenue, Castleknock, Dublin; Michael Keane, Corr Castle, Howth, Co Dublin; Frank Brennan, Ardglass, Dundrum, Dublin; Tom McMenamin, College Grove, Castleknock, Dublin; Patrick Byrne, St Helen's Road, Booterstown, Co Dublin; and Kevin Curran, Avondale Court, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
The case continues before Mr Justice Roderick Murphy.
