Conspiracy to defraud convictions for banking executives are upheld on appeal

Criminal law – conspiracy to defraud – global banking catastrophe of 2007/2008 – Anglo-Irish Bank Corporation – deception of potential and actual investors, depositors and lenders – the financial regulator – admissibility of the expert evidence – trial judge’s directions to the jury and other rulings – the intent required for the offence charged – acquittal of the co-accused – issues concerning telecommunications evidence – entrapment – officially induced error – entrapment by estoppel – mens rea for the offence of conspiracy to defraud – whether the expert's evidence that the transaction lacked commercial substance amounted to an impermissible encroachment on the jury’s function – whether the trial judge erred in admitting evidence of the accountancy treatment of the deposits after 30th September, 2008 – jury had ample evidence in order to consider whether the appellant was involved in negotiating, agreeing, instructing, authorising the September transactions or was engaged in executing them – false accounting charge pursuant to the provisions of s. 10 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 – Elliot, Dishonesty in Theft: A Dispensable Concept [1982] Crim L.R.395 – whether the appellant knew or believed the scheme to be dishonest – Section 53 of the Central Bank Act, 1989 – Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme, 2008 – adequate and fair summary of the defence position with respect to the nature and form of the deposits in controversy was given to the jury – s. 52(6)(a)(ii) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 – s. 98 of the Postal and Telecommunication Services Act, 1983 as amended by the Interception of Postal Packets and Communication Messages (Regulation) Act, 1993 – appeals against convictions dismissed.