A former finance director of Anglo Irish Bank has abandoned an appeal against his conviction and sentence for a €7 billion scheme to mislead the public.
Last July, former Anglo Irish Bank executives Willie McAteer and John Bowe as well as the former chief executive of Irish Life and Permanent, Denis Casey, were found guilty by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of agreeing a scheme to mislead the public about the true health of Anglo.
McAteer (65), of Greenrath, Tipperary town, Bowe (52), from Glasnevin in Dublin, and Casey (56), from Raheny, in Dublin had pleaded not guilty to conspiring to mislead investors by using interbank loans to make Anglo appear €7.2 billion more valuable between 1 March and 30 September 2008.
Their trial was the longest criminal trial in the history of the State.
Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Bowe to two years, McAteer to three-and-a-half years and Casey to two years and nine months imprisonment on 29 July 2016.
The three men have lodged appeals against their convictions and a hearing date has been fixed for the week beginning 6 March next.
However, during case management procedures in the Court of Appeal today barrister Lorcan Staines, for McAteer, told Mr Justice George Birmingham that his client's appeal was being withdrawn.
Mr Staines, who said he received his instructions on Tuesday, told Mr Justice Birmingham that he had a notice of abandonment for McAteer's conviction and sentence appeal.
Court records show that McAteer's lawyers filed their written submissions in the appeal on 20 January.
Counsel for Bowe, Diarmaid McGuinness SC, said the other two men were ready to go ahead with their appeals.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sinéad McGrath BL, told Mr Justice Birmingham that all three sets of submissions from the DPP were drafted and were with the Director.
She said her side would endeavour to have their submissions filed by next week.
Ms McGrath said there may need to be an "urgency" to the three judge court's eventual judgment on the appeal because there were "other trials" in the future.
The appeal is listed for one week of hearing commencing 6 March - the longest time set down for the hearing of a criminal appeal since the new Court of Appeal was established.
Mr Justice Birmingham said a rapid judgment was unlikely if the appeal would take a week to debate.
McAteer was not in court for the procedural matter.
