Ex-Rugby Star, Brendan Mullin, Guilty of Stealing Half a Million Euros from Bank of Ireland

The ex-rugby star, Brendan Mullin is found guilty of stealing half a million euros from the Bank of Ireland while being a managing director for more than ten years ago. 

The jury gave a verdict of 12 out of the total of 14 charges before the court today against Brendan Mullin. Mullin gave no reaction when the verdicts were being drawn to him for being guilty. 

How Brendan Mullin got into the Bank of Ireland

Brendan Mullin had been a star on the field and is known to revamp the rugby game in critical times. He represented his country on several highlighted occasions, such as Grand-Slam winning in 1985. 

He was known as a rugby legend and a national hero. He gave a shock to his fans as his downfall came from his misconduct in the corporate world. 

After his retirement, the ex-rugby star, Brendan Mullin got employed in Powerscourt Investments. Later, he got a job as a ‘rainmaker’ in the Bank of Ireland, where being a prominent figure, he was appointed to attract giant businesses and clients for brokering deals that would help the Bank of Ireland make money and expand its business. 

However, he was arrested in 2021 by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau after allegations of false accounting and stealth started floating.

Nine counts of theft were charged against him under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act. Five counts of false accounting are also added to his criminal record.

Mullin made no reaction to the charges as they were being scrutinised one after the other by the jury and the judge.   

The details of stealing charges against Brendan Mullin 

Brendan Mullin, 61, stood in a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today. He was accused of nine counts of stealing from the Bank of Ireland, the private bank where he worked as a managing director for more than a decade.

The total stealing was worth €570,000 between 2011 and 2013 along with five charges of false accounting. The ex-rugby star denied all the charges and kept saying that he was not guilty of stealing.

At this point, the jury was directed to return the verdict of ‘not guilty’ when it was ordered by the trial judge. However, an additional count of deception came forward accusing Brendan Mullin of inducing two bank workers to sign an authorisation letter for a particular payment. 

McCann Fitzgerald’s involvement

Several invoices, emails, large amounts of documentation and numerous bankers were involved in the trial for three weeks, the court started proceedings with the details of 2011 and 2013 where Mullin paid McCann Fitzgerald, a corporate legal firm, a sum of €61,000 as legal fees. This fee was already paid by the Bank of Ireland, as the receipts were verified. 

The court was presented with evidence from various bankers that Mullin stated that the payment to McCann Fitzgerald might have been done “by mistake”. The direct invoices from his own personal address were kept as proof as Mullin told his superiors that the invoices might have been placed faultily in the bundle of invoices that came from the clients. 

Quantum’s involvement

In another instance, Mullin arranged Quantum to make a payment of €500,000 to the Bank of Ireland which the private bank did not know anything of. The receipts and related bankers corroborated here again. 

Spice Holdings involvement

The trial continued for a period of three weeks and the decision is finally out. The court heard allegations against Mullin that he was acting dishonestly for quite some time. The accusations included his large amounts of money being transferred to Spice Holdings, which was a new client of the Bank of Ireland.

Spice Holdings is registered in the British Virgin Islands and the detailed breakdown of the stolen money by Mullin showed that it had a connection with this client, the prosecution explained.

The jury returned ‘not guilty’ verdicts of the similar charges that were related to Beechwood Partners. These involved a thievery of €6,150 from the Bank of Ireland. These were never found afterwards since Mullin was accused of having blown them away, as mentioned in his false accusation charges.

The court was presented with evidence from various bankers that Mullin stated that the payment to McCann Fitzgerald might have been done “by mistake”. The direct invoices from his own personal address were kept as proof as Mullin told his superiors that the invoices might have been placed faultily in the bundle of invoices that came from the clients. 

The court heard Mullin explaining himself in the case of Spice Holdings that the Bank of Ireland and New Ireland made an agreement to split a €1 million refund to the customers for both divisions of the bank’s Wealth Management. 

The refund to the customers would be related to a pay-out of life assurance claims with the court hearing a breakdown of the communications was also detailed. 

The judge thanked the jury and gave Mullin conditional bail

Judge Martin Nolan thanked the jury for the verdicts that they gave after careful scrutiny and hard work. The judge had clarified to the jury that they do not need to go in-depth on the “complex world of banking” and just need to address Mullin’s behaviour and actions at present. 

The judge kept the matters straight for the jury and even the defence council that paying the private bank or the clients their stolen money is not a safe way out. If the intention was to make money with dishonest means, it should be considered as a “big mistake”. 

He said,

“What the case boils down to is dishonesty”. 

Mullin’s defence counsel appealed to the court that Brendan Mullin should be granted bail ahead of sentence so that he could spend more time with his family. 

The judge ordered that Mullin should be remanded on bail before his stance, which is expected to be on November 25.

The reason for which the judge gave this ruling was that he did not consider Mullin to be at risk of fleeing the country, particularly called a flight risk, and notified that “all avenues are open”.

Also, to ensure things go smoothly till November 25, the judge asked Mullin to hand over his passport to the court. The passport was with his solicitor at that time.    

FAQs 

1. Who is Brendan Mullin, and what was he convicted of?

Brendan Mullin, a former Irish rugby star and managing director at the Bank of Ireland, was recently convicted of stealing over €500,000 from the bank. The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court found him guilty on 12 out of 14 charges, including theft, false accounting, and deception, which occurred between 2011 and 2013.

2. What led to Brendan Mullin’s arrest?

Mullin was arrested in 2021 following an investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau. Allegations surfaced about fraudulent activities and false accounting during his tenure at the Bank of Ireland, which led to his subsequent trial and conviction.

3. How did Mullin get involved with the Bank of Ireland?

After his rugby career, Mullin worked at Powerscourt Investments before joining the Bank of Ireland as a managing director. He was hired primarily as a “rainmaker,” responsible for bringing in major clients and deals to expand the bank’s business.

4. What are the main charges against Mullin?

Mullin faced multiple charges under Ireland’s Theft and Fraud Offences Act, including nine counts of theft totaling €570,000 and five counts of false accounting. He was also accused of deception by inducing bank employees to authorize questionable payments.

5. What was Mullin’s response to the charges?

Mullin pleaded not guilty and showed no reaction as the jury delivered the guilty verdict on 12 counts. He denied any wrongdoing, claiming some of the transactions were mistakes rather than intentional theft.