EY, the auditors formerly known as Ernst & Young who were criticised by Judge Martin Nolan for signing off on Anglo Irish Bank's interim accounts, said in a statement it has fully co-operated with requests from prosecutors regarding its role as auditor for the bank.

The judge criticised the accountancy firm as he sentenced two former executives at the failed bank along with a former group chief executive of Irish Life and Permanent. He said it “beggared belief” EY had signed off on Anglo’s accounts in 2008 as the bank passed off funds from Irish Life & Permanent as customer deposits, making its finances look stronger.

The firm, run as a partnership in Ireland under the global umbrella of one of the world’s four largest accountancy groups, had earned €9 million for auditing Anglo Irish Bank’s books in the decade leading up to the financial crisis.

“They should have known what was happening if they did their job properly,” the judge said. “It seems incomprehensible how these accounts were signed.” He said he did not know if it was blindness or wilful blindness.

Not commenting

A spokeswoman for EY said it was not a party to the court proceedings and had co-operated with requests from the prosecution for witnesses and documentation in relation to the case.

“Neither the prosecution nor the defence chose to call any EY witness to give evidence at the trial in front of Judge Nolan,” she said. “We will not be commenting further on this matter due to ongoing proceedings.”

While the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board (Carb) began an investigation in 2009 into EY's conduct as auditor to Anglo Irish Bank before the bank was nationalised, the Director of Public Prosecutions requested that this inquiry be put on hold in 2010 pending the outcome of various criminal cases involving Anglo Irish Bank.

“Carb will resume contact with the Director of Public Prosecutions following [yesterday’s] events to establish next steps,” a spokesman for the regulatory body said.

The Irish Bank Resolution Corp, as Anglo Irish Bank was renamed in 2011, filed a civil lawsuit against EY in November 2012 which also is on hold pending the conclusion of criminal cases. EY has previously said it stood over its work as Anglo Irish Bank’s auditor and would “vigorously defend” itself in any case.