Ireland Jails 3 Top Bankers over 2008 Collapse, the Opposite of What the US DidBy Carey Wedler Thelongest-ever criminal trial in Ireland lasted 74 days and led to convictions for former Irish Life and Permanent Bank Chief Executive Denis Casey; former finance director at the failed Anglo Irish Bank, Willie McAteer; and former head of capital markets at the Anglo Irish Bank, John Bowe. They received sentences ranging between two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half years. As light as those sentences may seem considering the dire effectbankers actions had on the Irish economy, U.S. and English bankers have evaded convictions altogether. Though banks in those countries have since paid out billions of dollars in settlements to regulators for their role in the 2008 crash, no one from those companies has been sentenced to prison. Reuters reported on thedifferent approach used by Ireland: But Judge Nolan maintained they had committed a very serious crime, adding, The public is entitled to rely on the probity of blue chip firms. If we cant rely on the probity of these banks we lose all hope or trust in institutions. A blue chip firm is a nationally recognized, well-established and financially sound company, according to Investopedia. Nolan also called Anglo Irishprobably the most reviled institution in the state, noting it was put into liquidation in 2013 and remains subject to other criminal trials, Reutersreported. In recent years, the Irish population has grown increasingly angry over the lack of prosecutions for financial dealings that cost taxpayers 64 billion euros almost 40 percent of annual economic output after a property collapse forced the biggest state bank rescue in the euro zone, Reuters noted. By 2011, Irish taxpayers had bailed out banks five times, and the Irish finance ministry said last month it could take up to 15 years to recoup the money pumped into those banks. Willie McAteer, the former finance director at Anglo Irish, was previously convicted of illegal lending and providing unlawful assistance to investors, in 2014, but he was sentenced only to community service after a judge ruled he was led into error and illegality by Irish regulators. Two top bankers from Anglo Irish Bank chief operations officer Tiarnan OMahoney and former company secretary Bernard Daly were convicted and sentenced in 2015 for crimes that preceded the 2008 crisis, but both were released from prison on appeal earlier this year after spending several months behind bars. OMahoney could still face a retrial. The governments lenient treatment of OMahoney and Daly leaves uncertainties regarding whether or not this weeks convictions will translate into actual prison time for the bankers or an upheaval of the current system; the Irish financial systems corruption extends far beyondthe activities of the recently convicted bankers. Similarly, Iceland, which received widespread praise last year for sentencing over two dozen bankers to prison for their role in the global banking crisis, released three of them in April years before their sentences were officially up. In spite of the questions surrounding whether or not convictions like those issued Friday will produce tangible change, the symbolism of bankersactually being held accountable for the destruction caused by their schemes is sure to resonate with Irish citizens, as well as observers from around the world. Meanwhile, in America, the political party vowing to end the banking oligarchy held its convention at the Wells Fargo center for a candidate bankrolled by Goldman Sachs. This article (Ireland Jails 3 Top Bankers over 2008 Collapse, the Opposite of What the US Did) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to edits@theantimedia.org. Dont get too excited! They received a shorter sentence than a man who allegedly harassed a policeman by making repeated claims that he did not take a report of child abuse seriously. Also, theyll be out when theyve served half their sentence. They are fall guys chosen to take the rap and will probably be treated with kid gloves while inside. When the zentral banks fail, there will be a thousand years of peace. 8-years is long over due and the 2.5 to 3.5 year sentence is too short. (U.S. and English bankers have evaded convictions altogether. Though banks in those countries have since paid out billions of dollars in settlements to regulators for their role in the 2008 crash) Paid out or should we say paid off? As Im sure all they paid went to the government, not people that were screwed over All of them should have gotten a life sentence and a short one at that ending with a rope with 13 knots in it. They took retirement money from people and squandered it away to nothing. Millions of people lost everything 