Ex-rugby international Brendan Mullin has been sentenced to three years for stealing over €500,000 from Bank of Ireland. At the time of the theft Mullin, who has 55 caps for Ireland, was the managing director of Bank of Ireland Private Bank.
Mullin (61) stood trial in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court accused of nine counts of stealing more than €570,000 from the bank between 2011 and 2013, along with five false accounting charges. He had denied all charges against him. The jury returned guilty verdicts in 12 of the 14 charges against Mullin earlier this month.
The jury was directed by the trial judge to return a verdict of not guilty on a further count of deception alleging Mullin induced two bank workers to sign a payment authorisation letter.
The three-week trial heard allegations Mullin, of Stillorgan Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, was acting dishonestly when he arranged for sums of money to be paid by the private bank to McCann FitzGerald solicitors, Beechwood accountants and Grant Thornton for work that had been done either for him personally or for his firm Quantum Investment Strategies.
Simon Harris faces the fight of his political life as Irish Times poll shows drop in support
General election campaign littered with missteps sees Fine Gael support fall six points to trail Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin
‘I honestly have no idea how I’m going to save my restaurant from going under’
Manchester United’s current crop will struggle to adjust to Amorim’s system
The prosecution further alleged that Mullin stole €500,000 from Bank of Ireland during a breakdown in communication within various arms of the banking group, with the money ultimately being transferred to a company called Spice Holdings, registered in the British Virgin Islands. The court heard Spice Holdings was a client that Mr Mullin had brought into the bank.
A sentencing hearing on Monday morning heard he “suffered a substantial fall from grace” when the offences came to light. Defence counsel Brendan Grehan SC said all the money had been repaid before the garda investigation began.
[ Brendan Mullin one of the last great Irish players of rugby’s amateur eraOpens in new window ]
He said Mullin has no previous convictions and that the thefts occurred at the “lowest point of the worldwide financial depression”.
Counsel added that Mullin now accepts the verdict of the jury.
Judge Martin Nolan noted he was chief executive officer of the private bank and “obviously in a position of trust and power”.
He noted no motive has come to light for the thefts, but that Mullin was “obviously somewhat desperate for funds”.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
