Financial advisor who lost €2m jailed

[Brendan Burgess]

Advisor who lost around €2m of investors' funds jailed

A financial advisor who lost around €2 million of property investors' funds in unauthorised stock market transactions has been jailed for six years.

www.rte.ie

William Kiely, 52, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court earlier this year, but changed his plea to guilty on the 21st day of the trial when he pleaded to three counts of dishonestly appropriating money from the accounts of Barrington Capital Ltd between 2007 and 2010.

They appear to have been property investments so probably didn't need to be regulated?

It doesn't say whether he was authorised or not.

 

[GSheehy]

A leading financial executive

 

[Marsupial]

"Mr Kiely – who was director of corporate finance at financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland for five years – later sought a judicial review on the decision to bring criminal proceedings against him on the grounds that the length of time that it took to prosecute him for the alleged offences meant his right to a fair trial would be breached." "The submission also states that Mr Kiely has since “turned a corner” in his life."

 

[Dr Strangelove]

on the grounds that the length of time that it took to prosecute him for the alleged offences meant his right to a fair trial would be breached."

I agree with him.

Someone shouldn’t have a prosecution hanging over them for a decade and a half.

Time taken on investigation and prosecution of economic crime in Ireland is absurd.

 

[Marsupial]

I agree with him.

Someone shouldn’t have a prosecution hanging over them for a decade and a half.

"He stopped communicating with investors and effectively disappeared, the court was told."

So the Strangelove formula for avoiding a prosecution is to "effectively disappear" for a decade or longer whereupon the magic eraser of justice will wipe the slate clear?

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Someone shouldn’t have a prosecution hanging over them for a decade and a half.

There is no statute of limitations on criminal behaviour.

A lot of child abusers found this out when they were charged and convicted decades later.

I agree that criminal prosecutions should be quicker but I am not sure that someone should be just let off because it's so time consuming to pursue economic crime.

 

[Dr Strangelove]

A lot of child abusers found this out when they were charged and convicted decades later.

But that’s because victims for obvious reasons don’t come forward for many years.

The Journal reported that:

Although gardai began investigating complaints against Kiely in 2012, he was not charged until July 2019.

That’s a very long time by any standard.

it's so time consuming to pursue economic crime.

It is done much quicker in other jurisdictions.

Investigation, prosecution, and trial seem cumulatively very long in Ireland which is in the interests of no one.

 

[Dr Strangelove]

So the Strangelove formula for avoiding a prosecution is to "effectively disappear"

I haven’t read anything that would suggest he left the jurisdiction.

 

[Marsupial]

I haven’t read anything that would suggest he left the jurisdiction.

Does the Strangelove formula apply only to people who have left the judisdiction?

 

[Dr Strangelove]

Does the Strangelove formula require people to have left the judisdiction?

 

[AJAM]

The submission also states that Mr Kiely has since “turned a corner” in his life.

Now that I've lost everyone's money, I'm not gambling it away anymore!