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Garda fraud chief: Ireland's 'crazy' system for hunting white collar criminals must change

Detective Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan said current investigation system is “crazy”.

THE SENIOR GARDA leading Ireland’s fight against white collar crime has described as “crazy” the system currently in place to investigate firms suspected of engaging in questionable practices.

Detective Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan told The Journal that his unit needs more gardaí, more resources and a united front with other enforcement agencies.

Lordan, the lead officer in the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and one of the force’s most senior investigators, believes part of the problem is a lack of staff.

“We absolutely need more members – we got new staff in April. We got 17 gardaí and then last month 16 members to back-fill vacancies that we have. Those vacancies were created by people retiring, people who moved on or promoted,” he said.

But the detective also believes that the findings of the Hamilton Report, which examined the State’s handling of white collar crime, and its recommendations to better resource those who investigate financial crime, are both positives.

Review

After several high profile white collar investigations and court cases, such as those into Anglo Irish Bank, political pressure mounted to modernise the manner, protocols and legislation surrounding such criminal probes.

Former Director of Public Prosecutions James Hamilton led the review group that compiled the report. 

In November 2017, the government published a suite of regulatory, corporate governance and law enforcement measures – known as the ‘white-collar crime package’. This included a commitment to “review and strengthen anti-corruption and anti-fraud structures in criminal justice enforcement”.

Hamilton was appointed at the time to act as the independent chair of a multi-agency review group which comprised members of government departments and key State agencies, as well as a small number of experts from outside the public service.

The group’s recommendations, published last December, included that legislation should be changed to allow gardaí to compel suspects who were detained for questioning over white collar offences to provide passwords to telephones and other electronic devices.

There was also a view that greater resourcing should be provided to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Garda National and Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB). 

This followed an examination of the capacity for these units to carry out their work and the need for staffing and other resources to better deal with investigations. 

There was also a recommendation to provide for the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in their investigations to obtain evidence using covert means, in line with An Garda Síochána and the Revenue Commissioners.

This would give these agencies an ability to obtain warrants to bug and listen to conversations as well as carry out surveillance – both electronic and in person. 

Separately, in June it was announced that gardaí would get the power to compel people to hand over encryption keys or passwords – a recommendation in the Future of Policing report.

Clear path

Lordan believes that the Hamilton Report sets out a clear path to overcoming some of the challenges in investigating economic crime, but he said that a number of issues still remain.

Among his criticisms are of the system that is in place to deal with businesses engaged in white collar crime.

“There is the gardaí, the ODCE, Justice, the Competition authority, the Central Bank, SIPO – six or seven main players form this new group under Hamilton,” he said.

“The problem is they brought all these laws in for this. But there is one big issue, if there is a garage locally that might be dodgy, inspectors from the Department of Justice go down to check if they are complying with money laundering legislation.

“But they have no teeth. They can’t prosecute anyone. They are going down to look and then refer back to the guards if they want to prosecute. It is a crazy system.”

Irish FBI?

In recent weeks, a group of experts – including Lordan – met to discuss the next stage for the implementation phase of Hamilton’s recommendations. 

Lordan said previous discussions involved the potential creation of a dedicated group of specialist investigators similar to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US or the National Crime Agency in the UK. 

“There was a feeling in Ireland we needed something like that,” he said.

“However, sat around Hamilton, after six or seven meetings it was realised the guards could do this but it was realised they need the resources, the IT, technology and where-with-all there.

“The guards are the one body of people who can get search warrants and arrest people.” 

In April of this year Justice Minister Helen McEntee announced the plan to tackle economic crime and corruption. 

Contained within that plan is a line which may help Lordan and his colleagues: “A resourcing plan for the long term needs of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau will be submitted by An Garda Síochána to the Policing Authority and Department of Justice by this summer.”

After repeated calls from senior gardaí, including Lordan, the white collar ball is back in the garda court and rather than a new agency the Government has favoured properly resourcing An Garda Síochána to do the job.

This the last in our series centred on Fraud investigation, which included the threat to financial institutions, organised crime groups operating in Ireland and the problem of investment fraud

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    Mute Adam Walsh
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:30 PM

    The only current affairs programme in the world that’s comedy gold

    223
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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Jan 7th 2015, 8:17 PM

    Yeah Druid but he can fixate on things sometimes and be a bit of a bully, but always watchable

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    Mute Juninho
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:25 PM

    I love Vincent but agree he occasionally catches onto the wrong detail in an argument and let’s more serious issues slip. But by and large a great asset to this country.

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    Mute Dermot Ryan
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:41 PM

    Vincent Browne deserves a Political Pension – He has done more for democracy in Ireland than all of Ff fg and lab in the current Dail – i.m.o.

    This is a clip of him giving it to Bertie …. a set of questions that is ….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6tQN6H_tVY

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    Mute Denis Maher
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:48 PM

    Two words guaranteed to leave enda Kenny needing an urgent change of underpants……….Vincent brown.

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    Mute Wexford pikeman
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:48 PM

    Oh Vincent Brown, of all the Vincent Browns in the world, your the Vincent Browniest .

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    Mute gumbridge
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:54 PM

    VB is a national treasure.
    I watched him for the first time in a while last night.
    I don’t think he’s back to the full of his health since the pneumonia, but he seems even more crotchety and abrasive with his guests than ever before.
    May he get to do MANY more shows, and continue putting it up to sleeveens wherever they present themselves.

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:55 PM

    This man is a hero of mine!

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    Mute Eimear Cregg
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:50 PM

    Would love if they replayed some of the Mario Rosenstock clips ! Comedy gold

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    Mute ConcernedCitizen
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    Jan 7th 2015, 8:06 PM

    I wish Vinny all the best.
    Used to be a big fan but since the Irish Water fiasco started he has unfortunately shown time and again that he has sold out to Denis O’Brien. It hurts to say it but he’s just not the force he was at all. The show descends into meaningless farce on a regular basis with eejits like Marie Louise O’Donnell talking nonsense. Last night’s show was the best in ages so we’ll see.
    Happy 1001 anyway !

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Jan 7th 2015, 9:14 PM

    The man is a machine.

    He was on Ireland AM at 7:30 this morning after finishing late last night.
    To be fair, he was a little cranky but who wouldn’t be with that much sleep? I’m considering changing my angry chicken avatar to him in his honour.

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    Mute Denis Maher
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:56 PM

    I hope they show the clip where the FG’er Bernard just will not shut up, Willie 0′dea couldn’t get a word in, fionnan sheehan nearly fell off his chair laughing. One of the best ever. If not its worth checking out on youtube.

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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Jan 7th 2015, 8:40 PM

    And the time Joan Burton lost the rag with Joe Higgins

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    Mute CreditTiger
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    Jan 7th 2015, 11:07 PM

    “Stop haranguin’ me Vencennnt!!

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jan 8th 2015, 5:13 AM

    Are they not called tampons lol.

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    Mute Dermot Ryan
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    Jan 7th 2015, 7:42 PM

    If you want to know the government’s thinking on the need for a snap election then watch the guests on Vincent Browne – He has promised to give them as much time as they returned to his offers to appear on the show when they refused-

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    Mute Celticspirit321
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:13 PM

    I would live to find out the things Vincent knows about some of the politicians which he can’t repeat due to libel etc

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    Mute Eugene Walsh
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:43 PM

    Absolutely. But it would probably create a civil unrest.

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    Mute Eugene Walsh
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    Jan 7th 2015, 10:17 PM

    Go on, go on just go on,
    Ya ya ya will ya continue
    Ya ya yaaaaa jeez ya
    GO ON WILL YA!

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jan 8th 2015, 12:35 PM

    His memory is phenomenal…. Don’t you just love when some old party hack starts spoofing and Vin can quote exactly what was said and then watch the hack squirming!.. Great pleasure indeed…. Irriplacable…

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    Mute Turlough O' Connor
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    Jan 8th 2015, 12:36 PM

    Irreplaceable .., sorry

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jan 8th 2015, 5:16 AM

    What would Vincent think of this, Bieden being racist towards all the Irish…
    Vice President Biden: “I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm9BtjqlVXQ

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jan 8th 2015, 5:12 AM

    TTIP TTIP Hooray lol.

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