Originally published in the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Newsletter Winter 2011.

In our Summer 2011 newsletter we predicted that the proposed Criminal Justice Act 2011 (which had not yet been enacted) would speed up the Director of Corporate Enforcement's (the "Director") investigation of Anglo Irish Bank. On 27 July 2011, Judge Kelly was updated by the Director on progress on his investigation and, having been informed that it was hoped that the investigation will be substantially completed by late-December 2011, agreed to extend the deadline on warrants originally granted in 2009, until the end of 2011.

Shortly after the commencement of the Criminal Justice Act 2011, on 9 August 2011, our prediction was realised when the Director made a successful application under the Criminal Justice Act 2011 to the District Court aimed at securing the cooperation of the developer Gerald Conlan who, the Director noted, had not previously acceded to the Director's requests for certain documents and information. Mr Conlan was ordered to produce certain documents and information in relation to a loan he received from Anglo Irish Bank in July 2008 for the purchase of shares.

In commenting on the District Court order, the Director welcomed the fact that while Mr Conlan had previously declined to make himself available to investigators, it was his understanding that Mr Conlan would comply with any Court order made. It is understood that the Director's investigations of Anglo Irish Bank are progressing and he may be sending further papers to the DPP in the coming months.

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