ANGLO Irish

IT is nearly three years since the wheels fell off Anglo Irish Bank, leaving a gaping €29 to €34 billion financial hole. Former chief executive and architect of Anglo's business model, Seanie FitzPatrick, is still enjoying his rounds of golf at Druids Glen. No decision has been made yet as to whether anyone will face charges over the well-known allegations of circular transactions, share price manipulation and disguising personal loans.

In the United States corporate bosses convicted of similar charges are serving long jail sentences. These include Enron president Jeffrey Skilling who got 24 years after his firm's collapse with debts of €31 billion. WorldCom broke all records when they inflated their firm's worth by €11 billion, causing a meltdown that cost €180 billion and put 20,000 people out of work. Bernie Ebbers got 25 years for that. Then there was Tyco boss, Dennis Kozlowskis who got 24 years for using company cash to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a $1 million party featuring and ice sculpture of the Statue of David urinating designer vodka. Anglo only spent €200,000 on golf balls.