3 former Irish bankers charged in fraud case

Three former senior bank officials have appeared in court charged in connection with a 7.2 billion euros (9.9 billion U.S. dollars) fraud, state broadcaster RTE reported Wednesday. The former CEO of Irish Life and Permanent Denis Casey, the bank's former finance director, Peter Fitzpatrick, and former head of treasury at Anglo Irish Bank, John Bowe, have all been granted bail to appear again next March. The men were arrested in Dublin by officers from the Bureau of Fraud Investigation on Wednesday. Bowe faces two charges, while Casey and Fitzpatrick each face one charge. Each of the accused was granted bail on their own bond of 1,000s euro and an independent surety of 10,000 euros. They each have to sign on once a week at a local police station and notify the police if they intend to travel abroad. The case has no factual connection with the forthcoming trial of three other former Angalo executives, it was learned.